Feathers of an Angel
by WinglessDreams
Summary: While Mikan was living her life in that little town, a mysterious syndicate 'picked' her up and paired her up with another mysterious girl. When they both go to the Alice Academy as spies, what trouble will be stirred up? Who will remain loyal in the end?
1. Chapter 1

**Heyos! This is me here! Edited version of FOAA chapter 1… you can read through or skip through it… It's up to you. **

In a traditional Japanese house in the middle of a country side…

Mikan stared out of the window, bored witless. She glanced at the girl sitting behind her who was working on a piece of embroidery. Sighing, she walked over and placed a hand on the girl's slender shoulder.

'They'll be coming for us soon,' the girl said. Mikan nodded.

'Yuki, are you sure about this? I don't want to leave Grandpa,' Mikan said reluctantly.

'If we don't abide by their orders, they'll do more than just harm us. Your Grandpa will suffer as well,' the girl whom Mikan referred to as Yuki told her bitterly. 'We have no choice but to accept this mission.' She placed the embroidery down. 'Hey, Mi-chan, do you think we'll ever come back to this town again?'

'Surely. We'll come back with Hotaru and we'll all have a sleepover,' Mikan promised. Yuki smiled and reached for Mikan's face. Mikan leaned forward and allowed her to touch her face. Suddenly, Yuki's face became sharp.

'They're here. The Alice Academy.'

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Alice Academy, Elementary School Division…

'And so, we're very lucky to have two new students joining us today!' Narumi smiled gaily. He gestured for the two girls at the door to come in. They stepped in and walked to the teacher's desk, faced the class and bowed.

'Hello, my name is Sakura Mikan and I'm 10 years old!' Mikan smiled cheerfully. Mikan whipped her pale brown hair, tied up in her usual pigtails, over her shoulder and her chocolate eyes glimmered happily.

'I'm Shirogane Yukiko, pleased to meet you,' Yuki said in a calm and collected voice. She had long, dark hair tied up in a neat and high ponytail. Her fringe framed her golden eyes, which were somehow dull and unseeing. She had a petite figure, at least an inch shorter than Mikan, but her physical build suggested that she was by far fitter than the brown-haired companion.

'So cute!' Some of the boys exclaimed. They admired their looks. 'Can I be their partner?'

Narumi chuckled. 'I've already discussed this with the teachers and they've decided that these two girls will be Hyuuga Natsume and Nogi Ruka's partner respectively.'

'That isn't fair! How can those two newbies be MY Natsume and Ruka's partner!' Sumire grinded her teeth and protested

'Hey, who said I was yours?' Natsume called lazily from the back.

'Natsume-sama! You replied!' Sumire nearly fainted from happiness.

'Hey, what's their star rank?' someone asked.

'Um… it's not decided yet since we're not too sure of their alices yet…'

'That sucks,' he complained. 'And they're supposed to be the two Elementary Division's princes' partner? Don't make me gag.'

Mikan sighed and looked around at the class. She spotted a familiar looking girl with short violet hair. Her eyes lit up with recognition as she exclaimed, 'Hotaru-chan!'

'Hota?' Yuki asked, reaching for Mikan's hand. Mikan took the hand patiently and led her to where the three-star girl sat.

Hotaru stood up. 'Mikan, Yuki.'

'I missed you so much, Hotaru-chan!' Mikan hugged Hotaru tightly.

'Hota,' Yuki smiled. Hotaru hugged Yuki too.

'Ah, so you three know each other? That's good then. You both will sit next to Imai!' Narumi announced. 'Bye!' he sauntered out of the classroom.

'Why are you two here?' Hotaru asked.

Mikan glanced at Yuki. Yuki answered, 'Isn't it obvious? We're both Alices.'

'Why though? What about your Grandpa?' she asked worriedly.

'We got the neighbors to help out. We can all go back to visit him when… when… when we all have the chance!' Mikan said bubbly.

'As if you two can go back to the lousy town you two were born in,' Sumire snorted. They turned around in unison to look at the green-haired girl. Sumire continued, 'I can see why Imai was so willing to leave that dump. There's nothing but lousy junk at that town. If she stayed there she'll never have a proper life.'

'Why you-'Mikan fumed.

'Mikan,' Yuki said cautiously. Mikan calmed down and turned away.

'For your information, we three are the best students in our town and all the neighboring towns around it. But then again, I suppose you're so horrible at studies that you don't even know the names of the towns, right?' Mikan stuck out her tongue.

'Mikan,' Yuki repeated monotonously.

'You little-' Sumire raised her hand to slap her.

'Stop,' Yuki grabbed Sumire's hand and Mikan's mouth at the same time without even looking at them. 'Stop your useless argument. If you don't approve of us, we'll make you.'

'Ha, as if,' Sumire snatched her hand away and stalked back to her seat.

'Mikan, don't do that again,' Yuki said exasperatedly.

'But she-'

'Please,' Yuki insisted gently. Mikan pouted and nodded reluctantly.

'Jinno's here!' they scrambled to get back to their seats.

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Mikan could tell by the teacher's expression that he was not happy. He was furious. And Mikan had a faint idea why.

Jinno slammed his 6-inch thick book of Advance Mathematics on the teacher's table and glared at the class. His eyes travelled around until they landed on the class' two new students. Twitching, he picked up his piece of chalk and began writing down extremely hard Math problem on the board. The class took one glance at it and groaned.

'Sakura, answer this one!' Jinno pointed to the first question on the board. 987X165X555=?

Mikan stared at the board, stumped. She hastily did mental calculations in her head and answered in a small voice, '90384525?'

'Hmph,' he grunted. Pointing to another question on the board, he called, 'Shirogane, do this one.'

'Um...' Yuki squinted at the board.

'It's 445X678X9733,' Mikan whispered in her ear.

'Oh, it's 2936543430,' Yuki answered quickly.

'Sakura, what did you whisper in her ear?' he barked.

'The question?' Mikan replied.

'Can't she see it for herself?'

'Actually, I can't,' Yuki admitted. The class stared at her.

'She has had impaired eyesight since she was young and it got worse over the years,' Mikan explained.

'Ha, a handicap is sitting in a school of geniuses. What a joke,' Sumire snorted. Her "followers" chuckled as well.

'Well, at least she can solve that problem in less than 5 seconds,' Mikan retorted, standing up. 'I bet you'll take days to finish that one.'

'What?' Sumire stood up.

'Sakura, Shouda, sit down!' Jinno commanded. The two girls sat down reluctantly. Turning his back to the class, he grudgingly wrote down some more ridiculously troublesome questions on the board.

All the while, two girls were glaring at each other, with a near-blind and a genius inventor in the middle taking no notice of them.

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'Man, I'm beat. We had 3 hours of Mathematics straight and then another 3 hours of History and to top it off another 2 hours of Geography. Why are lessons so tough?' Mikan whined. She rested her head on the table. 'You're lucky, Yuki. You don't have to look at the board all day long.'

'I can't even if I wanted to,' Yuki replied. She was doing the piece of embroidery again. Hotaru looked at the piece of cloth that was being decorated very nicely.

'You've improved,' Hotaru commented, impressed. She reached out for the cloth, which Yuki handed to silently. 'Wow, it's like a professional's. No one would know that someone like you did this if they didn't see it for themselves.'

'I cheated a little,' Yuki admitted. She mouthed, 'Alice.'

Hotaru nodded knowingly but continued to examine the cloth. Money signs were going in her head.

A shadow was cast over the trio sitting in their seats. 'Hey, Shirogane, why don't you just go home to that worthless town of handicaps,' Sumire had walked over and was taunting her. Her followers backed her up.

'Yuki isn't a handicap!' Mikan protested angrily, standing up.

'Sakura is such an idiot too, right? Not to mention that she doesn't even have an Alice,' Sumire continued on.

'Shouda-san, please stop saying these things,' the class president, Yuu, pleaded.

'Come on, show us your Alice. If you don't we'll make you,' Sumire ignored him and challenged the two girls.

'Our Alice isn't something that can be shown,' Yuki told her quietly, standing up as well.

'Ha, she's just making up excuses,' she snorted. 'Kokoroyomi, read their minds.'

'I can't' he said in a strained voice. 'If I could I would have done it long time ago.'

'What?' she rounded on him.

'There's like a barrier around them. Every time I try to look into their minds, I get a splitting headache,' Kokoroyomi massaged his head.

'Mikan's alice is the Alice of Nullification,' Yuki said. 'You can't read her mind unless she lets you.'

'Then what about yours?' Sumire asked in an arrogant way.

'I don't know…'

'Ha, as expected, she doesn't have an Alice!'

'I don't know how to explain,' Yuki repeated. Sumire stopped short of her rant. 'Although even if I do, it won't get past your thick-skinned, arrogant head.'

'Why you-'Sumire used her Alice to transform her into a cat-dog like person. She pounced on Yuki. Yuki stepped away and allowed her to fall flat on her face on the ground.

'Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I can't hear you,' Yuki stepped around her.

Natsume, who was sitting at the back with his manga, rasied his eyebrows. 'New girls, if you think you're so great, I have a dare for you. You do the dare, I'll acknowledge that you two are Alices… that is, if you're still alive,' Natsume got up. He pointed to the forest visible from the window. 'If you go through that forest, leave just one trace of you in the High School Division, and come back to the Elementary School Division in one piece, I'll acknowledge you both.' Ruka who was sitting beside him stared at him with a shocked expression.

'Time-frame?' Yuki asked.

'None,' he answered. Yuki and Mikan looked at each other and nodded,

'We'll do it,' Mikan said.

'Sakura-san, Shirogane-san, the Northern Forest is very dangerous…' Yuu tried to dissuade them.

'Let's go Yuki,' Mikan held Yuki's hand and walked out of the classroom. 'Hotaru-chan, get me some watermelon when we get back!'

Hotaru twitched. 'Fine, but you're paying for it.'

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Northern Forest…

'Yuki… it's scary…' Mikan shivered. She gazed around at the tall and dense trees and shuddered. 'I've always hated forests.'

'Yeah… remember the time when I asked you to accompany me for a walk in the forest at midnight? You were nearly wetting your pants,' Yuki chuckled. She held Mikan's hand and took the lead. 'Tell me if I'm going to hit anything.'

'Why don't you just use your Alice?' Mikan asked stubbornly.

'I don't have the conditions needed to use my Alice,' Yuki replied. Mikan pouted.

'The Alice stone-'

'Will run out after a while. I need to save it for more important purposes.'

'… You have a great Alice, Yuki. You can see anything through contact with water. It's amazing…' Mikan looked down moodily. 'If only my Nullification Alice was as useful.'

'You have the ability to protect, which I sorely lack. Sometimes, you have to look at the way the Alice is used to determine its usefulness… Hey, how're you supposed to watch out for me if you're looking downwards?' Yuki frowned.

'I thought you couldn't see…'

'I can see, just not in detail. But it's quite obvious that you're moping, judging from your tone and the height your arm is.'

'I'm not moping!' Mikan said indignantly. She straightened her back.

'Good,' Yuki quickened her pace. 'Hey… Do you think we'll spend the rest of our childhood here, in this Academy? Do you think we'll go back to…'

'I don't know…' Mikan sighed. 'But if possible, I'd like to spend more time here. I want to find out more about my family. They must surely be Alices.'

'That's true. It's nice isn't it… having a goal…' Yuki looked up at the sky. 'Up till not long ago, my only goal was to work hard as a member of the Black Halloween, the syndicate that took me in as a child and didn't shun me because of my abilities. But now that I've met you and Hota, I'm beginning to have doubts. Is that what I really want for my life?'

Mikan reached out and hugged her. 'No matter what, me and Hotaru-chan will always be there for you.'

Yuki smiled. 'That's why I was able to make the decision to do this mission. I knew that I'd never be the same after I stepped into this Academy. It was fearful to know that I'd lose my direction so easily. But my determination for the Black Halloween won't change. Mikan… it's not too late for you to turn back now,' Yuki's eyes were downcast. 'There's no turning back once you've joined the Black Halloween. But… this Academy… might just give you the chance of escaping from this life… you can still turn back…'

'I can't leave Yuki to do all those horrible stuff by herself! I told you, I'll always be there for you. So, don't try to shoulder all the pain and responsibility by yourself,' Mikan hugged her tightly. Then, moving closer to her ear, she whispered, 'Someone's coming. Act normal.'

Yuki took up the act immediately. Putting on a worried face, she clutched onto Mikan. 'Mi-chan, I'm scared. I can't see… are we going the right way?'

Mikan smiled and comforted her, 'I hope so. We just have to get to the other side of the forest, right? That's simple… I think.'

There was a rustling in the bushes and out came Hotaru and Yuu. They looked relieved at seeing both of them safe and sound. Hotaru rushed forward, 'I'm so glad you both are safe.'

'Why? With both of us here, there's no need to worry!' Mikan stuck out her non-existent chest.

'Look there,' Hotaru pointed to the woods behind her. Mikan turned around to see a very… big and yellow chick.

'KYAAA!'

**Back in the B Classroom…**

'Ruka! Where are you going?' Mochu asked. Ruka, who was on his way out of the door, froze. He turned around nervously and laughed.

'Um… my stomach hurts…' he scratched the back of his head. Mochu stiffened and shooed him away quickly. Sighing in relief, he escaped the classroom and made his way to the Northern Forest. His eyes reflected worry and apprehension.

'KYAAA!' Ruka froze and turned to the direction of the voice. He distinctly made out the large yellow chick.

'I've got to hurry!' Ruka said to himself and launched into a full sprint. He dashed through the trees only to find…

Mikan cuddling the Giant Chick. He was stumped, positive that he had heard her blood-curdling scream just now.

Or, at least, he thought it was a blood-curdling scream that was projected throughout the school (by some unknown but miraculous reason).

'Ah, Nogi-kun… is it?' Yuki turned towards him. 'What're you doing here?'

'Uh… I…' Ruka stuttered. 'I… I'm Shirogane-san's partner so I… I was worried whether you'll be safe going into the forest all by yourself…'

'Is that so…' Yuki grinned. She turned back to the Giant Chick. 'It's amazing. I never thought I'd see… well, to an extent… such an enormous chick. Is it… natural?'

'I think so…' Ruka smiled hesitantly. 'By the way, how did you know that it was me?'

'No one in class has the exact same shade of hair as you do,' Yuki said. 'I may be a half-blind, but at least I'm better at colors.'

'I see…' Ruka looked down.

'Hey, Nogi-san, would you mind accompanying us?' Mikan asked. 'It looks like we still have a long way to go and the more, the merrier!'

'What? Hey, wait, I'm just here to see that you two don't get eaten up or something…' Ruka backed away.

Mikan frowned, 'But there may be more scary creatures in the woods. Aren't you going to make sure we're safe from them as well?'

He froze, out-witted. 'I have to get back. Natsume is going to get angry…'

'If you don't come, this bird becomes food,' Hotaru took out a blow pipe. She aimed it at the chick and inserted a liquid-filled needle into it. She placed in her mouth and prepared to shoot it.

'Noooo!' Ruka cried helplessly. He reached out for the chick, pink sparkles appearing around him. 'Giant Chick!' The two ran at each out for each other in slow motion like in an anime.

PLOP! The needle struck the Giant Chick and it fell asleep. Ruka rounded on her and screamed, 'WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO?'

'I made it go to sleep so that we can proceed,' Hotaru replied rationally.

'You're lying. What kind of drug can make a GIANT Chick fall asleep in an instant!' Ruka's face was pale.

'Relax, Hota-chan isn't as cruel as to take away one's life just like that,' Yuki held Hotaru's hand and swung it. 'She may seem like an ice queen but she's actually very nice!'

Hotaru took out her Baka gun and fired a few rounds at her. Yuki dodged all except the last one. BAKA! She fell to the floor like a rag doll. Mikan hurried over and worried over the semi-conscious girl. Hotaru blushed and put away the gun.

'Anyway, let's go,' Mikan picked Yuki up and carried her on her back. Yuki looked unconscious. 'Let's get to the High School Division before sun down.'

'Understood,' Hotaru tied Ruka up with a rope and dragged him along. Ruka wept silently, rivers of tears flowing down his face. He was instantly regretting choosing to check on the two girls.

**Back in Class B…**

'Natsume! I heard Ruka being kidnapped by the two girls!' one of the boys suddenly barged in and said. Natsume's eyes darkened and he got up and stalked out of the classroom. The students avoided him subconsciously and stared from a distance.

'Natsume's mad…'

'Those two girls are in deep shit…'

'On their first day too…'

**Back to the Northern Forest…**

'Yuki, are you awake?' Hotaru asked, prodding her face. Yuki mumbled something but her eyes stayed closed.

'It's alright, Hotaru-chan. She'll come to soon,' Mikan said cheerfully. 'Do you want to stop for a rest?'

'Sure, all the walking is making me tired,' Hotaru plopped down on the grass. Mikan sweat dropped and placed Yuki down on the grass before sitting down beside her.

'Hotaru-chan, are the people in class always this… pig headed?' Mikan asked out of the blue.

Hotaru chomped on an energy bar, pondering on the question. 'I don't know, but it seems like they're particularly harsh to you two… I don't know why but… I guess you don't appeal to them much… apart from your looks and brains…'

'Ah… so you're saying I should dress up like a nerd and be stupid?' Mikan said stupidly.

'Baka, how can you be stupid if you dress up like a nerd,' Hotaru's hand itched towards the Baka gun. She sighed, 'Why did you have to come, though?'

'What do you mean?' Mikan asked, her eyes darkening for a fraction of a second but no one there caught the slight change. Ruka and Yu listened on.

'Both of your Alices can be hidden away from the eyes of the Academy. Why did they find out? No, how did they find out?' Hotaru pondered over it.

Mikan looked down for a moment. 'Two days before the Academy people came, Yuki and I were featured in the newspapers for winning the national music competition. Maybe there was someone that could…' Mikan suggested.

'Impossible, there's no such Alice in this place,' Yu shook his head. 'I know almost all the Alices that are in this school and no one has the Alice to detect other Alices.'

'What about the principals?' Mikan asked. 'Do you know their Alices?'

'Well… no…' Yu looked embarrassed. 'I do know that the Middle School Division principal has the Barrier Alice, but as for the other two principals…'

'Well, the only people that have access to the outside newspapers are the higher-ups… that is to say some adult, apart from the teachers and students, has that kind of Alice,' Hotaru said as she took out a jar of crab eggs and began munching them down.

'What about the Elementary School Division principal? He isn't an adult.' Ruka argued.

'He's a higher up though. And tell me, have you seen that principal grow much? As in the rate that normal people would grow?' Hotaru argued back. 'There's evidence to show that that guy is older than he looks.'

'Ah… so noisy…' Yuki got up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around and saw Hotaru and Ruka glaring at each other.

'Yuki! You're awake!' Mikan pounced on her. Yuki struggled and pulled away before she suffocated to death. Mikan pouted and sobbed fake tears.

'Shirogane-san, are you alright?' Yu asked with genuine concern in his eyes. Yuki smiled and nodded.

'Yuki?' Mikan looked curiously at her friend. 'Is something wrong?'

Yuki picked up a rock and hurled at the woods. It hit something with a dull "thunk" and clattered to the floor. The next moment, Natsume, with a new bruise on his cheek, stepped out of the woods with a disgruntled expression. Yuki folded her arms and glared, 'Hyuuga-san, isn't it?'

'How did you know?' he grunted.

'I guessed,' she replied nonchalantly. Natsume gave her a glare. She looked away and said, 'If you're here for Nogi-san, you can take him.'

'Natsume…' Ruka said to himself.

'Don't think you can get away with hurting Ruka like that,' he stepped forward and shot a fireball at her. Mikan dashed forward and nullified the fireball.

'You will not hurt Yuki' Mikan told him firmly. Raising both her arms, she covered the girl from further attacks. 'If you want to hurt her, you'll have to go through me!'

'Fine!' he charged forward and struck her with a flame in his hand. Mikan caught the hand and nullified the Alice at the same time. Grunting, she pushed him off and pulled Yuki away to the side. She got into a basic fighting stance and beckoned him to attack. Taking the hint, he attacked again, this time creating several fireballs at a time. He fired them all at once. Mikan smirked and the fire dissolved the second it left him. Natsume gasped.

'She has such control over her Alice…?' Hotaru gasped. She put on a pair of goggles and she saw the dome that Mikan had created. It was large enough to cover the whole Elementary Division dorms. They were all in her 'barrier'.

'You can't use your Alice now, can you?' Mikan taunted. Natsume growled and struggled to create a decent flame. It was useless.

'STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!' Jinno appeared in the small clearing, followed by Narumi and Misaki. He raised his metal stick warningly. 'Stop this right now or you'll risk being expelled from this Academy, Sakura and Shirogane.'

Mikan let down the barrier and sighed.

'What's the problem, Sakura?' Jinno asked suspiciously. Mikan shook her head.

'It's nothing, Jinno-sensei,' Mikan answered with a small smile.

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Back in the Elementary Division Dorms… in the attic…

'Right, so first you accept a stupid deal by the "prince" of the Elementary Division and then you get caught by Jinno-sensei for fighting and now you get demoted to a no-star…' Hotaru sighed. 'What's more, you dragged dear Yuki-chan down with you and now you two have to stay in an attic… a very dirty attic…'

'Jin-Jin just wouldn't listen to what I said!' Mikan pouted and wailed. Yuki patted her on the back.

'Alright, alright, let's see what we can do in the morning. Good night,' Hotaru walked out of the room.

'Hotaru!!!' Mikan cried.

'She's gone far enough. You can stop acting,' Yuki said while dipping a finger into a glass of clear water. 'We'll wait till 0100 till we commence the first stage.'

'Okay…' Mikan wiped away the fake tears she had cried and plopped down onto the bed. 'What will we be doing?'

Yuki paused for a moment as if she was listening to some invisible hand phone. 'We have to lay the offer…'

'I see…' Mikan hugged her legs.

'I got an idea.'

'Let's hear it.'

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The next day…

'Hello everybody!' Mikan skipped, in her usual cheerful self, into the classroom with Yuki trailing behind her. BAKA! Mikan got shot dead on by Hotaru's famous Baka gun.

'Mikan… haven't you heard?' Yu asked worriedly.

'Heard what?' Yuki asked innocently.

Hotaru and Yu glanced at each other. Hotaru sighed and said, 'This morning, a… threat to the Academy was found in the Middle School Division… it's said that a boy from that Division died…'

'What?' Mikan exclaimed. 'What happened?'

'I don't know about the details, but I heard that an organization called the "Black Halloween" is planning to… wage a war with the Academy. A boy was killed and his blood was used to write the message on one of the school walls…' Yuu whispered the details with fear evident in his voice.

'That's horrible,' Yuki whispered. 'Who could have done that?'

'They're investigating it now…' Hotaru pointed to Natsume's empty seat. 'All the Dangerous Ability students are involved in the investigation. We won't be seeing Natsume for a while.'

'I see…' Yuki looked down at her feet.

'Jinno-sensei is here!'

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After school, somewhere in the Northern Forest…

'That was a little overboard, wasn't it, Yuki?' Mikan folded her arms and glared at the dark-haired girl. 'How could you have killed an innocent boy?'

'I didn't kill him,' Yuki replied softly. 'I drew a bit of his blood and used it to write the message. Then, I sent him out of the Academy. Agents from the Black Halloween were contacted and they escorted him out of the Academy.'

'But still… his friends and all…' Mikan said worriedly.

'I purposely chose one that was not very well known. He has no deep ties with anyone and he had trouble coping with the Academy's standards. I sent him out so that he could live a normal life away from the Academy,' Yuki explained. 'He will experience no danger.'

'…I don't like doing this…' Mikan said bitterly. 'I don't like toying with powerless people like this. I hate lying to Hotaru-chan… I hate putting up a façade…'

'Neither do I, but this is what we have to do, since we've accepted this mission,' Yuki brushed her hair back. 'The faster we finish this, the lesser casualties there'll be.'

'What do you mean?' Mikan rounded on her.

'I've contacted the Black Halloween. Well, actually, it's more like they contacted me. The next victim… the killing… is for real…'

**Hello, this is the edited version of FOAA. It's not that much of a difference but I think it'll help you understand it a bit better. Thank you to all those that have taken your time to type in your reviews!!! Muacks and I hope you will stay by to read the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyyos! I finally got the second chapter up! There's not much involvement of the Black Halloween in this chapter since I'm concentrating on their relationships with the Academy in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it and thank you to all those that have reviewed! I love you all!**

_In a secluded area somewhere in the Alice Academy…_

'_Freedom… you'll guarantee that?' the boy asked apprehensively._

_The girl nodded. 'A whole life ahead of you. Free from the Academy. It's up to you to decided, though.'_

'_I… I…' he looked confused. 'Are you sure?'_

'_Yes.' She held out her hand. He accepted it warily. She led him to the wall where a portal was opening. A man walked out from the portal and took the boy's hand. They disappeared into the portal._

_Before the portal closed, there was a gunshot. Yuki walked away without a second glance back. _

Yuki gasped, awakening from her dream. She sat up abruptly and panted heavily. Mikan, who was sleeping beside her, looked up groggily.

'What's wrong, Yuki?' Mikan asked.

Yuki smiled softly and laid back down again. 'Nothing. I just remembered something.'

'Was it scary?' Mikan wrapped her arms around her friend.

'No,' Yuki shook her head. 'It was just… not pleasant to remember.'

Lies, all lies.

**Classroom B…**

'I got information!' someone shouted as her stormed into the classroom. 'I have information on the mur- Mph!'

'Shut up, you,' Mochu covered his mouth and dragged him to the centre of the classroom. 'We don't want any of the teachers to hear. If they do, it'll be the end of us!'

'Anyways, what did you find out?' Sumire leaned forward eagerly. 'Tell us, quick!'

Mikan and Yuki, who were sitting just a few desks away, looked up. Mochu let go of the boy. The boy took a deep breath and said, 'There was a message left on the wall. It said, "The Black Halloween sends their deathly wishes to the Alice Academy." '

'Black Halloween…' Hotaru mumbled. 'I'm sure I've heard it before somewhere.'

'It's a really rich organization. I heard they're a big part of the mafia,' Mikan said. Her classmates stared at her.

How did you know that?' Mochu asked accusingly.

Mikan shrugged. 'They were the organizers for a music competition we took part in. of course we know. We just happened to pick up the rumors in the post-competition party. It's nothing, really.'

'But then how did they come to the Alice Academy? It's completely protected by the barrier.' Sumire wondered.

'Inside spies?' Hotaru spoke up. 'Although that may not be very effective with all the lack of communication.'

'Yeah…'

Mikan and Yuki remained relaxed in the discussion. They leant back against their chairs and watched the hushed discussion with mild interest.

'Say,' Sumire glanced at the pair. 'These only happened after those two transferred here. Could it be…'

'Are you accusing us of that?' Yuki's sharp voice rang out, sharp like a whip. The students flinched and cowered away. Sumire sweated buckets and shut her mouth.

'Really, what can two little 10 year olds do anyway?' Natsume scoffed from his seat. 'They're girls. They probably can't even injure a person.' Mikan and Yuki glanced at him. They knew…

'Jinno's coming! Everyone, go back!' someone stationed outside the classroom dashed in and informed the class.

Discussion suspended.

**After School…**

Yuki hummed a soft tune as she sat under the Sakura tree. Mikan was standing beside her, gazing nonchalantly at the sky while tossing a ball of paper up and down in her hands. There was the crunching of gravel. Both girls looked at the newest arrival.

'Really, Hyuuga-kun, if you wanted to have a meeting, you could have had the courtesy of arriving on time,' Mikan threw him the ball of paper in her hands. He caught it deftly and threw it aside. Mikan raised her eyebrows. 'So?'

'Why did I have to lie for you?' Natsume frowned and folded his arms.

'Excuse me? Who asked you to lie for us?' Mikan rolled her eyes. 'You lied on your initiative. Live with it.'

Natsume growled. 'What I want to know is more about your Alices. If you tell me, I can guarantee you that I won't threaten your secrets again.'

'Oh?' Mikan raised her eyebrows. 'What secrets?'

'You are actually very skilled in fighting,' Natsume said. Yuki continued humming her tune. 'I can tell. From the way you two hold yourselves and the way she dodged that permy-haired girl's attack. You two have some experience in fighting, don't you? For all we know, you two may be the murderers in this case.'

'Sharp, as expected from the only boy in Class B that's in the Dangerous Ability Class,' Mikan smiled. 'But that's easy enough to hide.'

'In any case, you two owe me for sticking up for you two just now,' Natsume persisted. Mian sighed, nudging Yuki. Yuki nodded, still humming her tune.

'Okay, shoot.'

'What are your Alices?' Natsume asked right away.

'Nullification. Yuki… well, she can see almost everything through contact with water.'

'Does she have any limitations?'

'Nullification.'

'So that's only against you?'

'…'

'Do you have any other Alices?'

'None that we know of.'

'Are you two highly skilled in your Alices?'

'You can say that.'

'So you have a lot of experience in it?'

'Hell no. We only discovered it a few days ago,' Mikan rolled her eyes.

'Then how did you master it so quickly?'

'We're gifted,' Mikan grinned.

'Do.. do you have any relation to the Black Halloween?' Natsume hesitated at the last question.

'Hyuuga-kun, didn't you hear what we said in class?' Yuki asked, finally participating in the conversation. 'Black Halloween was merely an organization that organized the music competition we took part in. We have no connection to them.'

'Really? Are you positive?' Natsume pressed on.

'Hyuuga-kun, you don't believe me, do you?' Mikan twirled a strand of hair with a finger playfully and asked.

Natsume looked away. 'I don't believe anyone.'

'I see. That's sad. Imagine what Ruka-pyon would think,' Mikan said airily. She helped Yuki up and waved. 'We'll be going then. Bye.'

Natsume looked away. The two sets of footsteps were soon replaced by a new, heavier set of footsteps. Natsume looked up reluctantly.

'Do you have any useful information, Kuro Neko?' the masked man asked coldly.

'No… Persona.'

'I see. Are those two girls related?'

'They heard of the organization and seem to have participated in a competition organized by the Black Halloween. That's all I know.'

'I see. Continue observing them. Report to me if there are any suspicious movements,' Persona turned around swiftly and walked away.

Natsume remained standing there in the swirl of Sakura petals.

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**Dream…**

'_Yukiko… you do know what your duty is, don't you?' the old man sternly asked the girl who was kneeling in front of him. She bowed her head and said nothing. The man pointed at her and yelled, 'Do you have any idea how serious this is? You're not supposed to be fraternizing with others! You are the jewel of Black Halloween. You are our prized possession. You are a precious servant of our master! Do you know the consequences if anything were to happen to you? Do you even understand your value?'_

_Yuki remained silent. The man raised his hand and slapped her across her cheek. The force of the impact sent her flying off her feet. She fell on her side, her hair covering her face._

'_Do you want to know what happened to the child you played with?' the man sneered. 'Do you want to know? I'll tell you. That child's parents were fired from their companies and they were robbed mercilessly by our own men from the mafia. Their child was kidnapped and sold off to god knows where and her mother was involved in a car "accident". Do you know why? It's all because of you. You broke their family up. You destroyed the future of that child. All because of you, that family will soon cease to exist. All because you took that child's hand to play, that family has to pay for your foolish actions. Of course, our men were very happy to do all that work for you. You can continue on playing with those children out there IF you can bear it.'_

_Yuki sat up and said softly, 'I never had the chance to play with anyone so… I thought… just this once…'_

_The man stood up. 'You want a play partner? Fine, I'll give you one. Everyday from now on, you'll be fighting against a traitor that we've kept in the cellar for god knows how long. If you win, you get food. If he wins, he gets food. Wonderful, isn't it? You can keep playing with him until he dies from starvation. That should satisfy you, shouldn't it?'_

_Yuki looked stunned. The man bent down and lifted her chin with a finger. 'You are no angel, Yukiko. You are a monster. You are meant to stain your hands till they're filthy and dirty. You are meant to do anything to serve your master. Even if it means massacring the whole of your hometown.'_

_He walked away, leaving Yuki sitting on the cold marble floor. After a long while, a tear finally rolled out._

_A few months later…_

_The same man stood in front of her again, this time with a sickly smile on his face. Yuki bowed her head and knelt down. _

'_I have good news, Yukiko. It seems like you'll finally have a new friend. The last one didn't last you long, did her?' the man barked a laugh. Yuki's eyes grew clouded and she stared down at her feet, unwilling to look up even for a split second. The man raised his eyebrows. 'No, you won't be playing Battle Royale anymore. This time, you'll be befriending her. Yes, your new friend is a girl. She is the daughter of two very rare and precious Alices. I'm sure you know what that means. This is a mission. Befriend the Alice, Sakura Mikan, and gain her trust. Only then will our master's great plan finally proceed to the next stage.'_

_Yuki nodded and stood up. The man smiled and nodded. Without a second thought, she dashed out of the room._

_The following week…_

'_Yuki… commence mission…' Yuki drew her finger out of the glass of water and set the glass down. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. _

'_Become friends? How?' Yuki murmured as she walked out of the room. _

'_Oh! Sorry, Mikan didn't see you!' someone crashed into her head-front and knocked her down. Yuki groaned and rubbed her butt. The person who crashed into her gave her a hand but Yuki got up, shaking it away. The person took her hand back sadly and gave a small, 'Oh.'_

_There was an awkward silence between them. _

'_Um… Mikan's name is Sakura Mikan! I'm 8 years old!' the person gave a smile and took Yuki's hand. 'Mikan hasn't seen you before. Are you the city-girl that moved here?'_

'_Ah…' Yuki looked away. 'Shirogane Yukiko, 8 years old…'_

'_Mikan sees!' Mikan laughed. 'You're really pretty, you know?'_

'… _I don't.'_

'_Eh?'_

'_Can't really see myself… that well…'_

'_Oh, you're blind?'_

'… _Half.'_

'_Oh.'_

'…'

'_That's okay! If you can't see Mikan, then you can hear and feel Mikan!' Mikan pressed Yuki's hand on her face. Yuki tensed and her hand trembled slightly._

'_I… it's alright,' Yuki pulled her hand._

'_Does Yuki-chan not like Mikan-chan?' Mikan asked worriedly._

'…' _Yuki glanced up briefly. 'Maybe if you don't refer to yourself in 3__rd__ person.'_

'_Eh?'_

'…_irritating.'_

'_Mikan… No, I see. Then can Yuki-chan give Mi- me… full sentences?' Mikan smiled._

'… _Okay.'_

'_FULL sentences!' Mikan pouted._

'…_Yes, I will reply you with upmost respect and in full sentences, my Queen Mikan,' Yuki rolled her eyes and faked a curtsey._

'_Yay!' Mikan danced around in joy. Yuki watched on… uh, if that can be used… with an amused expression. Yuki's mouth twisted slightly._

'_Maybe… this will be a slightly easier mission than I thought…'_

_FASTFORWARD…_

'_So class, we have a new student today!' The teacher grinned happily. The class groaned in unison. The teacher looked confused. 'Huh, don't you all like transfer students?'_

_Eyes darted to the silent Yuki and away quickly. Yuki cocked her head innocently. Mikan stifled a laugh._

'_So, here we have Imai Hotaru from the city. Please treat her well,' the teacher smiled and introduced the purple-haired girl to the class. There was a silence._

'_What's your interest?' Mikan asked daringly, breaking the long silence._

'_Nanotechnology.'_

'_Eh… one word answers again…' Mikan sweat dropped. 'Why can't I seem to get full answers from you people?'_

'_Because you're an idiot,' Yuki and Hotaru answered at the same time. Mikan wailed loudly. Yuki and Hotaru caught each other's eyes and smiled._

'_Can Imai-san sit with us, sensei?' Yuki asked. The teacher deliberated slightly._

'_Hm… leaving the city girl with the city girl and the country girl… not exactly a great idea but…' she pondered loudly. 'Ok! Permission granted!'_

'_Eh… but I don't want to sit beside an idiot…' Hotaru complained._

'_You'll be sitting beside Yukiko so no, no idiot will be sitting beside you,' the teacher said happily. Mikan wept buckets of tears. _

'_Unless… Imai-san, do you take me for an idiot?' Yuki grinned mischievously and rested her head on her palm. Hotaru shivered at the grin and shook her head silently._

'_Great! Then you can sit with us!' Mikan stopped crying and smiled brightly. Yuki and Hotaru winced. What a multi-personality idiot._

_**In the music room…**_

'_Do you play any instruments, Imai-san?' Yuki asked. Hotaru shook her head silently._

'_Do you sing, Hotaru-chan?' Mikan asked. Hotaru shook her head silently._

'_Do you do anything that is related to performing, Imai-san?' A smile pulled at Yuki's lips as there was a short pause. She grinned mischievously, 'I got you, didn't I?'_

'_I dance,' Hotaru admitted._

'_That's great! Then we can have a trio for the competition!' Mikan clapped her hands and exclaimed happily._

_Hotaru's eyebrows twitched. 'Competition?'_

'_We're taking part in a talent competition and we need one more person to form a team! So what do you say? Huh, Hotaru-chan?' Mikan smiled brightly with anticipation._

'_There's a prize for the winner. It's a trophy with 10,000 Yen. I'm sure you'll want that money, right, Imai-san?' Yuki held out a pamphlet. Hotaru took it and read through it quickly._

'_I'm in.'_

_End of Dream…_

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**Tuesday…**

Mikan stared at the schedule again. She pouted and passed it to Yuki. Yuki took it and chucked it into the waste bin.

Mikan wailed,' I can't believe that Yuki-chan is in the Latent ability class! And I'm in… the class for rejects…'

'No one said you were rejects Mikan-chan,' Yuki reminded her gently. Mikan pouted some more and laid her head on her desk. The bell rang and the student s in Class B started moving to their respective classrooms. Yuki sighed and stood up, 'Get there without getting lost, Mikan-chan. Well, at least you're better off than a half-blind.'

'Yuki-chan doesn't have an escort?' Mikan asked. She looked around and noticed that there were hardly anyone left. She sighed, 'Why are people so mean to us. We've been here for barely a day and they're already prejudiced against us! Don't we all start out as transfer students as well?'

'It's our Alice. They're afraid of the unknown and thus they don't wish to approach,' Yuki pulled Mikan up from her desk and stood her straight. 'Let's go to class. We can talk more about it when we're back in our room tonight.'

'O… Okay…' Mikan pouted and they both made their way to the door. Mikan paused slightly and asked, 'Do you think we'll be accepted?'

'… I don't care, actually.'

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**Latent Ability Block…**

The latent ability class was the biggest and only second to the Special Ability Class in diversity. With an astonishing 56% of the entire school population in that building, it was a miracle that everyone could be controlled. Of course, with the sheer number of students in the class, they had to be split up into different groups by their Alice. Yuki belonged in the "sight" group.

And of course, there were many types of "sight". And… Yuki belonged to none of them.

And… The other groups didn't want anything to do with her either.

So technically speaking, Yuki didn't belong in the Latent Ability Class. She was just classified there.

Until… well, until the Latent Ability Class decided that they really didn't want to do anything with her.

The first hit was the worst, since it started a whole chain of events. One single insult followed by a slap on the face set off the whole Latent Ability Class.

'You demon! Those murders didn't happen until you came!' SLAP!

SMACK! 'Be gone! Don't you ever dare to come back to this classroom.'

'You and your monster Alice! I bet that's what killed that poor boy.'

'He was my classmate, you beast! And you think you have the right to saunter in here and rob that boy of his life?' SLAP SLAP!

'Nothing but bad luck! The Latent Ability Class doesn't accept you at all!'

'Go away! Go join that other bad omen and get away from us!' SHOVE!

Suddenly, Yuki was picked up by the back of her collar and carried to the door. The high school boy who picked her up threw her out of the door, causing her to land on her side and slammed it in her face. Yuki sighed and got up slowly, rubbing her butt and dusting it to remove any dust. Sure, she had gone on many minor missions that got her slightly injured and there was once where she broke her right leg as well as a few ribs but she had never- I repeat, never- gotten herself injured by being thrown out of a classroom. Sure she had become slightly masochistic and didn't even flinch when she got a cut or some sort of injury but bruises on her body because she was thrown out of a classroom? She was trained to handle life-threatening situations, detonate soon-to-explode bombs, and escape a crowd of angry and murderous security guards but NOT handle a situation involving half the Alice Academy's student population who were very pissed off and adverse to having her in their class. Heck, she was barely in there for 3 minutes when they kicked her out. It was a miserable defeat.

Feeling bored, Yuki decided that she would go to the Special Ability Type Class to see how Mikan was doing. She highly doubted that Mikan would have received the same treatment, the SA class being open and accepting, from what she had gathered, but she wanted to make sure that she and Mikan wouldn't be classless for the rest of their school days. So she made her way to the Special Ability block, which was the smallest and simplest building among all four of the Ability Type buildings. _With the exception of the Dangerous Ability Type block, of course._

'What are you doing here? Class started 10 minutes ago.' A sharp voice rang from behind her. Yuki turned around, her left hand instinctively reaching for the water Alice stone in her pocket so that she could see what was happening. Her Alice did its work and a vision of a high school division boy slowly blurred its way into her mind.

'Ah…' Yuki mumbled and looked away. 'I was…'

'What's the matter here, Subaru?' another softer and gentler voice came. Another high school division boy came into view. Yuki fine-tuned the details and examined both boys. The first was tall and lanky, with neatly cut dark blue hair and chocolate brown eyes. His expression was cold, undoubtly from the years in the Academy. His face looked somewhat familiar but Yuki couldn't put a finger as to why. The second boy was slightly shorter, but not that noticeably. He had shoulder length blond hair. He gave off a confident aura from the way he stood and held himself. What was most noticeable was the badge on the lapel of their blazers. It was a star surrounded by a circle. They were student representatives.

The one named Subaru replied in a monotone, 'She was out of class and I was questioning her as to why, Shuichi.'

'Is that so?' the blond one, Shuichi, walked up to her and knelt down. He smiled friendly and asked lightly, 'What's your name, little one?'

Something in this 5 words ticked Yuki off and she said coldly, 'By little one, are you referring to my height or my age?'

Shuichi was stunned. He regained his composure in a moment though, and smiled again, 'I didn't mean it that way.'

Yuki raised an eyebrow. (A feat that your poor author still can't manage…) After a moment's hesitation, she finally said, 'Shirogane Yukiko, Elementary Class B. 10 years old and still lacking in the height department.'

Shuichi smiled, 'You've got cheek, Shirogane-chan. Do you even know who you're talking to?'

'No.'

Shuichi tilted his head to the side and asked, 'Why?'

'I've been here for barely two days, senpai,' Yuki answered straightforwardly. 'I've barely interacted with my partner and no one fills me in on what goes on in the Academy so I don't have a clue who you are.'

Subaru sighed and used a finger to push up his spectacles. 'We're from the Student Council. He's Sakurano Shuichi, the Student Council president. I'm Imai Subaru, vice president of the Student Council and Representative for the Latent Ability Type Class.'

'Ah, so you're the Representative from the Latent Ability Class…' Yuki looked as if she was pondering over something.

Sakurano said, 'Are you one of the two Elementary students that transferred here recently?'

'Yes…' Yuki answered.

'So I'd wager that you're the one with the Sight Alice.'

'Yes…'

'So, why aren't you in the Latent Ability Class right now?' This time, Sakurano had a more serious tone to his voice.

'I was… well…'

'Well?'

'Well… I was kinda… kicked out by the whole class…' Yuki admitted with embarrassment.

'Kicked out?' Imai repeated in disbelief. Yuki smiled sheepishly.

Sakurano seemed to be stoning for a moment while Imai stared at Yuki. Suddenly, he broke out of his trance and said, 'I believe that the Latent Ability Class doesn't like you too much?'

Yuki gave a small laugh. Her left hand made a small movement to her right wrist, which didn't escape the eyes of the vice-president. Imai strode forward and gently, but firmly, raised her wrist till it couldn't be raised any further. (Even then, it only reached his mid-torso, but that isn't the problem now)

'They did this?' Imai questioned.

'Indirectly, but yes, I suppose you can say they caused this,' Yuki replied, jerking her hand as she wanted to remove it from the man's grip. Imai kept a firm fold on it and began healing it.

'What're you doing?' Yuki flinched as she felt a slight discomfort in her wrist.

'He's healing it for you, Shirogane-chan,' Sakurano told her gently. He gave a small chuckle, 'I suppose that's because he's ashamed at what the Latent Ability Class did to you. He is, after all, their representative.'

Imai remained silent as he finished up the healing. He let her hand drop and advised her, 'Go to the hospital to get it bandaged it. I may have healed it but it will take some time to fully recover.'

'… Alright…' Yuki nodded.

'As for the problem about the Latent Ability Class, I will personally see to that they will-' Imai started off but Sakurano cut in.

'Why not let her join a different class?'

'What?' Imai and Yuki said at the same time.

Sakurano smiled, 'It's no use joining a class where you're not accepted. Why not join the Special Ability Class? One more member wouldn't make a difference.'

'Is that even possible?' Yuki asked in a small voice. Her left hand was creeping back to her pocket.

'Our influence is enough to manage this, I assure you,' Sakurano replied.

'Shuichi, we shouldn't transfer her. Will the Special Ability Class be able to handle her needs?' Imai tried to dissuade him.

'Will the Latent Ability Class be able to provide her the environment to nurture her Alice?' Sakurano countered. He continued on, 'It wouldn't be hard, since she has a rather unique Alice. Sight through contact with water, is it?' Sakurano reached for her left hand and pulled it out of her pocket. Clenched on it was a dark blue Alice stone. He smiled. 'It wouldn't be hard for her to blend in with the rest of the class. They all have different Alices and none of them has an absolute way of training their Alice. Neither class will be able to provide her with an accurate training formula so why not let her join a class with a more conducive environment?'

Imai seemed a bit lost for words. He shook his head and sighed, 'Whatever you want, Shuichi.'

'That's great. Can you make your way to the Special Ability Class now?' Sakurano asked Yuki. 'We'll take care of the admin stuff. For now, you should go join your new class.'

Yuki saw this as an opportunity to escape the two and nodded quickly. 'Thank you very much, Sakurano-senpai, Imai-senpai.' She took off in the direction of the SA block.

Imai waited till she was out of sight before saying, 'You've taken an immense interest to that girl.'

Sakurano smiled and replied in a light voice, 'I feel naturally drawn to her… and have you noticed? Her eyes… they're blind.'

**With Yuki…**

'_Those two… I should be more wary of them. They know much more about what's happening in the Academy than they appear to be. And it seems like… they've found out about my sight as well. Damn, and I thought I could hide it from them.'_ Yuki used her Alice again to find out where she was. _'A few more steps to the SA block…'_

Yuki stopped outside the classroom, her hand poised to open the door when she heard the commotion inside. It was laughter…

A tear rolled down her cheek. Yuki withdrew her hand and backed against the opposite wall. The sharp, stabbing pain in her heart was hard to ignore and tears kept dripping down her cheeks.

'Why…' Yuki whispered to herself. 'Why is it that Mikan is always the one that gets accepted and not me? It's not fair… It's just not fair… We're alike in almost every way. Why can't I be accepted like her?'

Yuki slid down the wall and cradles herself, only to be found hours later when the party finally ended.

**Just a quick note, I'll be using the manga plot since it's still ongoing and the plot doesn't stop before the real climax happens. However, I will be using some scenes from the anime since I want to. (Is there any logic in there?) Please tune in to the next chapter (I hope I can get it up soon) and don't forget! RXR!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I finally finished this… Argh… I've been staying up till 12 to study and do my History project and so far I haven't made any progress at all… so I decided to work on something that hopefully would be more productive. Enjoy!**

**In the attic where Mikan and Yuki stayed in…**

Mikan sat on the bed, braiding her hair into two little plaits while Yuki sat on the dusty floor, back resting on the wall behind her, running her fingers across a book.

'Really, Yuki, I never thought you were the one to ditch class. Why were you sitting outside the SA room the whole afternoon?' Mikan asked as she tied the end of her plaits with a piece of ribbon.

'There was no actual class going on so I didn't feel the need to attend the class… or rather… celebration. You know I'm not the one for rowdy parties,' Yuki replied stonily, her fingers moving at a quicker pace across the page.

Mikan pouted and skipped over to her side, staring at the book Yuki was reading. She tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out what it was called.

'It's Braille. You know, pages with bumps that represent words,' Yuki answered the unvoiced question. 'It's troublesome to have someone read to me all the time or listen to a tape recorder. Sadly, there aren't many books I can read.'

Mikan looked at the book, trying to decipher the array of dots on the paper. Yuki's hand shot through the page like lightning and the next second, Mikan was more focused on her hand rather than the book. She mumbled, 'Ah, there goes my pride of being a speed reader. Your hands are like lightning, Yuki-chan!'

'If not, how would I be able to fight?' Yuki mumbled in return. The words seemed to have triggered an alert switch in Mikan and she sat up straighter.

'When?'

'We're only asked to prepare. He'll give the command when the time is right. In addition, we have to write down the way to contact the Black Halloween. It's really troublesome, this one,' Yuki paused in her reading and sighed. 'Will you do this one, or do you want me to do it again?'

Mikan's hands trembled. 'It's for real, right?' Yuki nodded. Mikan gulped and shook her head, 'No… I'm… I'm sorry I'm just too scared to…'

Yuki nodded understandingly. 'It's alright. I'll do it then.' She had a thoughtful look on her face. 'You haven't killed anyone yet, have you?'

'No!' Mikan answered instantly and a bit too loudly. She shook her head vigorously and said, 'I just can't. When I point the barrel to someone's head, all of a sudden my senses will go numb and I just can't seem to find the strength to shoot…'

'It's alright. If you can't find the strength to shoot, I'll shoot for you. I'll stain my hands with blood for you, until whenever necessary,' Yuki promised and grasped Mikan's hand tightly. Mikan hugged Yuki in return, not once releasing the tightly clamped hands entwined in between them.

**At Class B the next day…**

'Good Morning!' Mikan skipped into the classroom with Yuki behind her and greeted everyone cheerfully.

'Morning, Mikan-chan, Yukiko-chan,' Yuu smiled and waved at them. He was sitting at the middle of a circle in the classroom, with most of the students surrounding him. 'We're having a sharing session today, so come join us.'

'What kind of sharing session? Isn't it… 5 minutes to the bell?' Yuki asked curiously as Mikan and her walked over to the circle.

'Narumi-sensei won't be here and Fukutan-sensei is having a sick leave so I've been instructed to keep the class in line by engaging them in an activity,' Yuu wept fountains of tears, clearly not very enthusiastic about the task. Mikan sighed and pulled Yuki down to sit down at the gap left for them in the circle.

Yuu glanced around and saw that most of the students were here. Correction, all the students he could persuade to come over were here. He took a deep breath and started in a not-very-confident voice, 'We are here to today to-'

'Get on with it already!' someone yelled and threw a piece of chalk at the class prez. Yuu flinched as the chalk bounced off his head and rolled off somewhere.

'Why not we start with our two new transfers, then,' Yuu smiled weakly, sending signals with his eyes at the two girls to let him off this time round. They sighed again and shrugged, indifferent to the prospect of being interrogated by their classmates. There was a silence in the circle. No one was speaking up. Yuu sweated and asked nervously, 'Does anyone have any questions for these two?'

Ogasawara Nonoko raised her hand hesitantly and asked, 'Yukiko-san, what's your Alice?'

The students sat up straighter and all eyes, even those not in the circle, were on Yuki. Yuki smiled slightly and chuckled, 'I knew someone would ask me that sooner or later. Well, how do I explain it…?'

'Show it to them,' Mika suggested.

Yuki smiled at her and nodded, 'I think that would do nicely. Could you…?'

'Sure!' Mikan ran out and not more than a few minutes later, she came back with a glass of water. She set it down in front of Yuki, who mumbled a word of thanks to her.

'So…' Yuki smiled mysteriously over the glass of water and gazed around at the class she could not properly see. 'Who would like to try this out?'

No one volunteered. There was an eerie silence, mostly due to the smiled hanging on Yuki's face- one that screamed "It's deadly! Stay back!"

'I'll do it,' someone from outside the circle. All the heads turned to see Natsume standing at the outer side of the circle, hands in the pockets and face adorning its usual dark expression. Yuki simply smiled and gestured for him to sit in front of her. He stepped over and sat down on the floor, looking uninterested –which, of course, isn't true- and bored. Yuki gently dipped a finger inside the glass, her face gentle but filled with concentration.

'What would you like to know?' Yuki asked, her finger not breaking contact with the crystal clear liquid.

'Hmph. Anything you can see,' Natsume shrugged nonchalantly.

'I can see a lot of things, Hyuuga-kun. Please narrow it down. Or should I do it for you?' Yuki raised her other hand to her lips, putting on an expression that showed deliberation. Natsume didn't reply so Yuki went on, 'Family then. Hyuuga Natsume, 10 years old, birthday on the 27th of November. You have a younger sister named Aoi. Your mother is… or was… Igarashi Kaoru. She was a former student of the Alice Academy and has the Alice of Memory Processing. She was also a Hana Hime. She-oh, you don't need to know that… By the way, Hyyuga-kun, you look a lot like your mother-'

Natsume slapped the glass away from her hand. It shattered and the water slowly seeped into the gaps in the wooden floor. Natsume's expression was of fury and slight fear. He stood up quickly and left the classroom. Ruka hurriedly followed his friend, while Yuu stood hopelessly at the scene.

'What… is your Alice, exactly?' Nonoko asked hesitantly.

'I can see anything through contact with water,' Yuki replied while wiping her finger with a piece of tissue.

'Anything?' Anna gaped.

'Anything. The past, present, future, I can see it if I want to. I can see your deepest secrets or your worst fears. Anything on the world, I can see,' Yuki shrugged. 'Well, there are certain limitations. If it's being protected by a barrier Alice, there is a chance that I wouldn't be able to see anything. Well, that depends on the strength of the barrier as well. Other than that, everything else is pretty much open for me to see.'

'That's… scary…' Nonoko whispered. 'So does that mean you can see who the murderer is?'

Yuki glanced at her briefly (though it was no use to even look at her…) and shrugged, 'I can, I suppose, but I don't want to. Who would want to see a murder right in front of their eyes? I think it's best to let the Academy to do their work. They'll find the one responsible soon.'

Yuu glanced around again. 'Does anyone else have any questions?'

Kokoro Yome asked, 'You participated in a music competition?'

'Yes,' Yuki and Mikan nodded in unison.

'What did you do?'

'Yuki-chan plays the violin. She always does. I'm either the singer or the piano accompanist,' Mikan replied. She grinned happily, 'When Hotaru was with us, she and I would be dancing and singing while Yuki-chan plays the violin or the piano. It was really cool! We'd always leave with the grand prize and the audience would scream for us!'

'Wow!' Nonoko and Anna exclaimed. They had stars in their eyes and gazed with admiration at the two girls.

'She's exaggerating,' Yuki and Hotaru said together. Hotaru pulled out her Baka gun and fired a couple of rounds at her, knocking the poor girl out.

'We didn't always win. Our age was a real obstacle in competitions, but Yuki would always make up for our lack of experience with her playing. Whenever she draws that bow over the strings, it felt as if… we were made to do this and our best performance would come up,' Hotaru rubbed the back of her head and admitted sheepishly. 'Without her, I doubt it would be possible for us to win anything.'

'The Magical Superglue…' Mikan mumbled in her semi-conscious state. Hotaru fired another shot to knock her out.

'What she meant was that Yuki-chan was the one that bonded us together. I couldn't stand being beside this idiot at first but Yuki-chan was the one that helped me look at the idiot at a different perspective and truly like her,' Hotaru explained.

'Wow… you three go back a really long way…' Nonoko commented.

'Mikan and Yuki are closer. They've been together a few years before I came,' Hotaru shrugged.

Someone who had been quiet for the past few minutes suddenly spoke up, and her words shocked all of them. Sumire stood up and sneered, 'Then you probably wouldn't know what the murdering girl had been doing before you befriended her.'

Everyone's head shot up at the statement. Yuki tensed up and questioned in a controlled voice, 'What do you mean, Shouda-san?'

Sumire snorted and flicked her hair back. She said in an arrogant voice, 'Don't pretend that you don't know, Shirogane. I know that when you were 7 years old, **you killed your own father**!'

Mikan stood up and defended Yuki. She shouted back, 'That's not true! Yuki would never do something like that!'

'Do you have any proof?'

'Uh…' Mikan flinched.

Sumire took out an article dated 3 years ago and showed it to the class. 'There. When Shirogane was 7, her father took her to work where there was a power shortage. They were trapped in an elevator and after 30 minutes, she, her father and two others were suffocating. Shirogane wanted to live so she took the gun from her father and shot him to death!'

Mikan was stunned, as was the rest of the class. Yuki, however, was composed and gave a small laugh.

'Really, Shouda-san, I was impressed that you managed to find something like that in such a short space of time. Your inferential skills, however, does not match up,' Yuki stood up as well and her expression was of a professional detective. 'There are several inconsistencies. I, for one, know that that article only states that my father died in an elevator with me and two others. The part about the power shortage was true… as was the point about us suffocating. However, may I ask, what was that mysterious gun that you mentioned? If I'm not wrong, my father was a detective as well as an informant. However, he was not part of the police, therefore he could not gain access to guns and similar weaponry. How, then, would there have been a gun in the elevator on that day?'

Sumire furrowed her eyebrows and said slowly, 'Then the gun must have been from the other two…'

Yuki smiled and shook her head, 'That could not have been possible. Although I admire your quick thinking, it seems that you have not done the second part of your research. The other two in the elevator were scientists. They too could not have gain access to guns. Therefore it was not possible for a gun to be in the elevator.

'However, if you do insist that there was a gun in that elevator, then I'd accept it and lead you to the next contradiction. Why on earth would I ever lay a finger on that gun? Guns are dangerous things. I'd understand that even if I were a little baby. The power shortage completely cut off power from the elevator, thus there was no light. I would not have known about the gun or its position, therefore I could not have used it to shoot anyone as I could not have even laid a single hair on it.'

Sumire hung onto her conviction and opened her mouth, but was silenced by Yuki raising a hand.

'Wait, please, until I finish. Okay, supposedly I did lay a finger on that nonexistent gun, then how would I know where to shoot it? There was a power shortage, thus I could not see a thing. How would I know where to shoot in that big elevator when the bullet could rocket off the walls and come right back at me? Don't laugh; reflecting bullets are the worst possible way to die for a gun man.'

Sumire could finally find a solid argument and fired out the moment Yuki stopped, 'Just as you said, there was a power shortage. You wouldn't know where to shoot so when you shot, the bullet went to your father!'

Yuki giggled and shook her head again, 'No, that's not possible. I do know where my father was at that time. He was sitting right beside me, shoulder to shoulder…' Yuki rubbed the side of her left arm nostalgically. 'I wouldn't have picked up a gun and shot it at my father, who was sitting just beside me. I was too young to be that heartless…

'And you know what?' Yuki looked up at Sumire and smiled. The whole class could see her shaking form. 'My father didn't die from a gunshot. He died from a heart attack. What's more, the police searched the elevator and there wasn't a gun or a bullet. And you know what's more…? I… felt my father die beside me.'

Yuki turned around and left the classroom. Mikan rushed to follow her but was held back by Hotaru.

'Don't. Let her cool down first,' Hotaru nodded towards the door. Mikan sighed and rested her head on Hotaru's shoulder. Sumire, on the other hand, was standing in the circle, shocked and frozen on the spot. There was an uncomfortable silence in the class cloaking the class. Yuu was on the verge of tearing his hair out by the failure of the discussion.

'Do your own stuff!' he cried out and ran out, upset by his failure. The class slowly made their way back to their seats and they sat in silence for the rest of the free period.

**Next day… morning before breakfast…**

CLANG! The third floor and attic of the girl's dormitory was all awoken by the sound of breaking glass. Mikan shot out of bed, startled by the noise.

'Yuki-chan! What do you think… was… that…' Mikan glanced around the room only to find that her dark haired roommate was missing. 'Don't tell me… Yuki-chan!' She jumped out of bed and made a mad dash for the bathroom to look for her friend.

'Yuki-chan!' Mikan cried as she ran into the bathroom. She gasped.

Yuki was standing at the sinks, one hand against the wall which once held the mirror. Around her were pieces of glass, clearly what was left of the mirror. Blood was splattered around the sink and in her tightly clutched hand was a shard of glass, its edges cutting deep gashes into her palm and dripping crimson blood into the sink.

'Yu…ki…? Mikan asked hesitantly. She carefully stepped around the glass shards and made her way to her friend. 'Are you… okay…?'

Yuki remained silent. Mikan was getting worried and she shook her anxiously. 'Yuki! Please, say something!'

'Mi… kan…' Yuki's pale lips cracked open and the name was whispered out. Mikan turned her friend around and shook her gently.

'What's wrong, Yuki-chan? Why did you break the mirror? Is… something wrong?' Mikan touched her cheek gently. More girls were starting to come into the bathroom, having woken up from the sound of Yuki completely breaking apart the bathroom mirror.

'Is that… you… Mikan…?' Yuki mumbled out. Mikan had a gut feeling that something was terribly amiss and she felt butterflies fluttering about in her stomach.

'What's wrong, Yuki? You don't usually have problems in recognizing… me…' Something dawned on Mikan. 'Yuki… can you see me?'

A tear ran down Yuki's cheek. She shook her head slowly. Mikan dropped her hands and stared at her in shick.

'How is that possible? You were fine yesterday. There's no way it could have gotten so bad overnight!' Mikan was shaking in denial. 'You must still be asleep, Yuki-chan! You must be closing your eyes, that's why you can't see. It's… it's not possible. Yuki not being able to see a single thing… YOU MUST BE KIDDING ME!'

'Mikan, I…' Yuki lifted her head to let Mikan see her dull, golden eyes. Another tear slid down her cheek. 'I'm sorry… I don't think I can… stay positive about this anymore…'

She fell onto her knees, bringing Mikan down with her, and cried on Mikan's shoulder.

**Hospital… **

Mikan stood in front of Yuki's bed and simply stared at her friend. The teachers outside the ward were looking at the frozen girl and shook their heads.

'The reason?' Serina-sensei enquired.

'The doctors don't know. An examination revealed that her eyes were not suffering from any form of disease of short sightedness… what is the real cause of her blindness is unknown,' Narumi sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. 'She may have been severely traumatized or so the doctors say…'

'Did you know that Tobita Yuu organized a sharing session yesterday?' Misaki-sensei suddenly pointed out. The teachers nodded. 'Do you think she may have been traumatized then?'

'By what?' Narumi shook his head. 'There's no way one could be traumatized by a _sharing session_, it's not like she has some dark secret…'

'She does,' Serina-sensei denied. She pulled out an article from her pocket and showed it to the teachers. 'I found this on the floor yesterday when I was there to look for a few students. I think… this can explain the situation quite well.'

The teachers huddled together and scanned the article. Jinno was the first to finish and shook his head in disbelief. 'It's impossible for her to be traumatized over that. It should have been 3 years ago, when her father died, not now.'

'True, but how would you feel if you had to relive the most terrifying moment of your life again after blocking it out for 3 years,' Narumi argued quietly. 'It's not nice to relive painful memories of the past.'

The teachers were silent as they understood what he was implying. They glanced at the two through the window again.

'Let's leave them for today,' Misaki-sensei gestured for the rest of the teachers to follow him out of the hospital. One by one, they abandoned their position beside the window and strode out to return to the Elementary branch.

**Back in Class B…**

Mikan walked into the class like the dead, bringing a miserable aura along with her. She sat down heavily onto her seat and buried her head into her hands. Her shoulders were shaking slightly, though not noticeable if you didn't observe her for a long time. Even so, the aura she brought along was stifling and it affected the class.

By the third period, the class could barely stand the aura flooding and overwhelming the classroom. Few were on the verge of fainting and even Hotaru was looking uncomfortable. Sumire, deciding that she has had enough, slammed her hands onto the table the moment the teacher was gone and pointed a finger to Mikan.

'Get out. Now.' Sumire said through gritted teeth. She gestured at the rest of the class and said to Mikan, 'I don't care what happened to your friend. The class has nothing to do with it! Don't bring all your creepy and depressing aura into the class and kill them all!'

'… You're right. You're the only one that made Yuki-chan into what she is right now. You should be the one that is being punished,' Mikan raised her head to glare at the seaweed-green haired girl. Her eyes were piercing and cold, and they seemed to hold a dangerous intent that the whole class had only seen in Natsume's eyes. 'If it weren't for you, Yuki-chan wouldn't have to think about the past and get so worked up! Did you know that she was always wishing and hoping to regain her sight? She wants to regain her sight more than anything else! How would you feel if you were made to think of your own father dying before you and then lose your chance of regaining your eyesight, your greatest desire? You know nothing about losing what's important to you! And yet... you…' Maikan panted angrily. She raised a hand in a threatening manner.

'Mikan.'

'… Yuki…?' Mikan turned around so fast the movement couldn't be seen.

'Mikan, it's alright. Let them rant all they want,' Yuki shook her head slightly at the girl. She leaned against the door frame and folded her arms. Mikan saw her bandaged arms as well as the black blindfold that she had tied around her eyes. 'It's not like they can help or anything.'

'Yuki-chan… how can you say that?' Mikan lunged towards Yuki and hugged her tightly. Yuki lost her balance and stumbled back a few steps.

'Careful, you're going to fall down, Shirogane-san,' a soft but manly voice fluttered over. Yuki was caught and steadied by a pair of hands (that enveloped her whole shoulder). Every pair of eyes darted to the newcomer and discovered who it was.

'Sakurano-senpai!' the girls' screams rang throughout the elementary block. 'Kyaaa!!!!!'

'Ah, who's that?' Mikan looked questioningly at Yuki and the blond bishounen. 'An acquaintance, Yuki-chan?'

'No… a nosy senpai,' Yuki whispered the last part so that only Mikan could hear her. She turned and bowed to the blond, saying, 'Thank you for escorting me to my class, Sakurano-senpai. Your help was much appreciated.'

Sakurano merely smiled and patted her head. 'Take care now.' And he teleported away.

Mikan and Yuki stared (well, technically speaking she can't but let's just say that her eyes are directed towards whichever spot) at the place where he was standing just a few seconds ago in silence. After a while, they began to notice the piercing daggers that were boring into their backs. They turned around slowly to see their female classmates glaring murderously at them, a dark aura flaring in the background.

'How dare you speak with Sakurano-senpai-sama so informally? You'll die for your sins!' the leader of the Sakurano-Imai club (Elementary Division) growled and she raised a baseball bat. 'Let's go girls!' and the whole crowd began charging at the two girls.

'What's going on here?' Jinno's very famous strict voice resounded throughout the classroom. Everyone froze and turned their heads slowly to see the furious teacher tapping his metal stick against his thigh. They gulped and in a flash, they rushed back to their seats, with the exception of Mikan and Yuki who were incapable of doing it at such a speed given the circumstances. He ignored the two girls and walked to the teacher's table, slamming his book of Advanced Algebra onto the table. He picked up the chalk and began scribbling along algebraic equations onto the board.

'I suck at Algebra,' Mikan mumbled to herself as they sat down at their seats.

**(A/N: I suck at Algebra too… I just started on the topic at school and I nearly got half the questions wrong… Haiz…)**

**After Lessons…**

'Sakura, wanna play Alice dodge ball?' Mochu approached the brunette with a ball in his hands. The ball was a light blue with the crest of the Alice Academy on it. 'Minimum 7 a team, today at 5pm'

'Sure, why not?' Mikan closed the book she was reading and looked up. 'The rules?'

'Loser team has to serve the winning team. Just so that you know, Natsume's in our group,' Mochu bounced the ball with one hand.

'I don't care. I accept your challenge,' Mikan held out a hand. Mochu and Mikan shook it firmly and they turned the opposite directions to begin the search for their teams.

**At 5pm, on the field…**

'Mikan-chan… are you sure it's alright?' Yuu asked worriedly. 'You have no idea how dangerous Alice dodge ball is!'

'I have a fair idea what it involves, Yuu, or it wouldn't be named Alice dodge ball,' Mikan rolled her eyes as she and her little team made their way to the centre of the field. 'Trust me, we'll win this. Especially with Yuki-chan and me on this side, we can take down them all easily without even needing to use our Alice.'

'That's probably because your Alice won't do anything,' Hotaru chipped in as she crawled out of her Caterpillar Capsule. She had money signs in her eyes. '500 yen per half hour and 1000 yen for any injury. Make payment by end of this week.'

'Hotaru-chan…' Mikan sweat dropped.

'Let's begin!' Mochu brought the ball the field and passed it to his team. 'The team with the last person standing is the winner!'

And the match began… with drastic results.

In less than 5 minutes, Mochu's team had been reduced to nearly one-quarter. Mikan was receiving the balls with her nullifying Alice and hit them back. The balls struck everytime. Desperate, they started hitting towards Yuki, who they thought would be eliminated the first since she can't see a thing. Who would have expected that she caught the ball with a hand while side stepping it, before launching it into the air and giving it a spinning kick to send it crashing to an unfortunate boy, who was knocked back by the force of the ball and fell heavily on his butt.

'Scary!' the thought ran through every player's mind as they watched Mikan and Yuki high-fiving. Their faces had a light and carefree expression, a first since the start of the day. Their mood slowly influenced the players and soon, almost (note the word ALMOST) everyone was laughing and smiling.

'Yuki, the next ball's yours!' Mikan yelled as she tossed the dodge ball to the opposite side and took down another player. Yuki nodded and caught the ball that was aimed towards her. She held it silently for a moment before throwing it with considerable force to a random guy on the other side. The guy tried to catch it but a moment before the ball reached him, he appeared shocked and didn't move. The ball hit him on the shoulder and rolled away.

'Hey, what're you doing? Why did you suddenly stop?' Mochu yelled.

'I don't know… my body just froze and I felt a shock. I don't know what happened…' the guy stared at his hands.

'Well, he was hit so please leave the court,' Hotaru raised her Baka gun, preparing to shoot if he didn't leave court within the next 10 seconds. He scurried off in a hurry and sat at the sidelines.

'What happened…' Mikan and Yuki were both thinking.

'Look out!'

The dodge ball, no doubt from Natsume, was flying straight for Yuki while blazing in flames. Yuki barely looked up in time when the ball made contact with her chest and knocked her off her feet.

'Yuki-chan!' Mikan rushed to her friend. Yuki sat up slowly and coughed, rubbing the spot where the ball hit her. It was slightly scorched and smoke could be seen rising from her chest.

'I'm alright… just winded…' Yuki reassured her friend. Hotaru and Mikan helped her stand up and walk her out of the court. Both of them had a murderous aura floating around them and the others gulped. They did not want to be on the receiving end of the two girls' wrath.

'I'll make them pay!' the thought ran through both girls' heads.

And in the next 10 minutes, both teams were reduced to only Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume and Ruka. They panted heavily, exhausted from dodging all the balls thrown at them. Natsume picked up the ball on his side and whacked it over to where Hotaru was. Swift as lightning, Hotaru pressed the button on the switch she was holding and a net came to catch the ball. It was attached to a rocket and Hotaru pressed the button again, making the ball fly over to where Ruka was. It hit Ruka on the shoulder and Ruka was out.

'Yatta! Only one more to go!' Mikan hooted and jumped. She looked around for Hotaru, only to find her sitting in the side lines with Yuki. Mikan's jaw dropped. 'Hotaru-chan!'

'I'm tired and I ran out of ammo. Deal with it yourself,' Hotaru said coldly. Mikan pouted and cried.

'Polka Dots, get ready!' Natsume threw the dodge ball to Mikan. Mikan leaned forward to catch it, nullifying his fire the minute it crossed into her court and her hands clamped around the ball. It spun uncontrollably in her hands and Mikan let go, feeling the burn from the friction generated.

'Natsume wins!' Storms of cheers erupted at the other end of the court. Mikan's group stood dejectedly while the other group cheered and hooted.

'But… that was fun, wasn't it?' Yuki said. Eyes were cast on her. 'We all had fun. That's what counts, no?'

'Yuki-chan is so matured!' Mikan cried and rushed to hug her. BAKA! Yuki shot her with a round from Hotaru's Baka Gun.

'If only days could be this carefree…' Yuki thought to herself gloomily.

**Focusing on Yuki's past… I want to make Yuki pair up with someone… any suggestions? **

**I realized how troublesome making an OC clear to the reader is. But that doesn't change my LOVE for OC stories. Please read and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I finally got it done! This whole long chapter covers the Reo arc. I used parts from the anime as well but I think it blended in ok… I think. Please RXR!**

**In Class B…**

Narumi stood in front of the class in his usual gay and girlish outfit, clapping his hands together and announced happily, 'Everyone! The time to prepare for the annual Alice Festival is finally here!'

The normally would-ignore-Narumi-cuz'-he's-gay class erupted into cheers. Mikan looked around, confused and unaware of what the Alice Festival was really about. Yuki, being Yuki, sighed and rested her head on her palm, staring straight at space.

'What's the Alice Festival?' Mikan tilted her head to the side and asked cutely.

Narumi smiled and began explaining about the Alice Festival while the rest of the class busily discussed what they wanted to do for the festival. Mikan's eyes were brimming with happiness and anticipation while Yuki merely looked bored.

'Yuki-chan! Aren't you excited about the Festival?' Mikan shook her friend and exclaimed happily.

'…Not really. I was never fond of big celebrations…' Yuki replied monotonously.

'Yukiko-chan!' Narumi walked over to Yuki and tapped her shoulder. 'Would you come with me for a sec? There's something regarding the Festival that the teachers would like to talk to you about.'

'Ah… okay…' Yuki got up and silently followed the teacher out of the classroom.

Mikan pouted and skipped off the harass Hotaru about the Festival.

**Teacher's Lounge…**

'…Are you serious?' Yuki blinked (though that went unnoticed behind her blindfold) and said.

'Yes. Maori Reo had specifically requested for you to accompany him for a live recording as well as a live performance within the school for the Alice Festival. You'll be raised to a 1-star as well,' Jinno pushed up his spectacles and said. 'The performance is a few days before the start of the Alice Festival, and the recording the day before. You have approximately 1 and a half weeks to learn the song he's intending to perform.'

Yuki stood like a wooden statue (a very short one) and comprehended the information. 'Why me though?'

'I have no idea but Maori had requested for you and you only. It is a very rare opportunity, Shirogane, and I hope that you do realize the importance of the Alice Festival to the school,' Jinno grabbed a few papers from his desk and handed them to Yuki. 'I doubt you can actually read them. He doesn't know that you're blind. However, please do not request for another to read this for you. Maori Reo's presence in the Academy is to be kept a secret for as long as possible.'

Yuki silently accepted the papers and nodded. 'I'll find a way to read them privately… somehow…'

'You'll be given access to the private practice rooms for the next 1 and a half weeks. I'll have someone escort you there. We'll meet up later today to finalise your decision as well as your schedule for practice and the booking of the practice rooms if you agree to this performance. You'll also be provided a violin for the performance, so there will be no need for you to purchase one. I do hope you would accept this offer, Shirogane-san. Maori is willing to split profit from the sales of the album with you. You can gain a lot from this performance.'

Yuki gave a small, weak smile. 'Who said I wasn't going to agree. Why not do it now, since I've already given my decision.'

Jinno rubbed his temples and took out a sheet of paper, getting ready to have a discussion with a midget 4 times younger than him.

**At the Special Abilities Classroom an hour later…**

'Ano…' Yuki looked around at the now very busy and noisy classroom. 'What's going on?'

'Yuki-chan!' Mikan ran to her and hugged her. 'Where did you go? You were gone so long, Noda-sensei and I decided to start our special lesson without you!'

Yuki returned the hug and told her, 'The teachers wanted to talk to me about my arrangements for the Alice Festival. I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused, sensei.'

'It's no problem,' Noda-sensei flapped his hand and smiled. 'You're Shirogane Yukiko, right? I'm Noda-sensei and I'm the teacher in charge for the Special Abilities Class. Shall we continue on with the class then?'

Yuki allowed herself to be led to the desks at the corner of the very hectic room. She inquired curiously, 'What are we learning?'

'Loads of stuff!' Mikan laughed happily and sat her down at one of the desks and took a place beside her. 'We were discussing the Alice forms just now. It's so scary, isn't it? If you're a childhood form Alice, then you'll lose your Alice the minute you hit puberty! It's so scary!'

'…Diffuse.'

'Ha?'

'My form is Diffuse. I can't use my Alice for a long period of time or I'll tire out.' Yuki told them. 'That's the only reason I'm not carrying a bottle of water with me wherever I go. I can't use my Alice the whole day.'

'Oh… then what's mine?' Mikan pointed to herself. Yuki shrugged.

'Alright, enough discussing. Since Yukiko-chan's Alice is relatively stable from what I've heard, let's work on yours, Mikan-chan,' Noda got up and stretched. 'I'll attempt to time travel…' And the teacher began to fade away.

'Sensei!' Mikan cried out indignantly and charged forward to grab his shirt. The teacher stopped fading away instantly and he regained his colour in seconds.

'Well that worked well. You're a natural at using your Alice, Mikan-chan,' Noda rubbed her hair and smiled. He started fading away again.

'Hey… hey wait!' Mikan rushed forward to grab him again but instead she grabbed thin air.

'Eh? Noda-sensei is off time-travelling again!' Tsubasa noted out to the class.

'Ehhh!!!!!'

'I was too late…' Mikan sobbed.

Yuki hit her playfully on the head. 'He won't die. I'm sure he'll be back soon.'

Tsubasa walked over to the two girls and examined Yuki from head to toe. He smirked, 'So you're Shirogane Yukiko, huh? You're cute, albeit a bit short.'

Yuki stomped his foot and made her way to the door. Mikan called after her, 'Hey, Yuki-chan, where're you going?'

Yuki paused at the doorway, deliberating for a moment before replying with a small smile, 'Preparations for the Festival, of course.'

**Fast forward one and a half weeks…**

'Mouri Reo is coming to the Academy!' the random guy with the Ultra Hearing Alice slammed the door open and yelled to the class. The class was instantly in an uproar and the fans of the acclaimed singer were cheering crazily. Mikan joined in the commotion, not noticing that Yuki, who was usually by her side, had slipped out of the classroom.

'Who's that?' Mikan asked.

'You don't know? Reo is a graduate from the Academy and he's a world-famous singer! He won countless awards…' one very devoted fan went babbling on about his favourite idol.

'Hey, isn't he coming today?' Mochu asked. The class went silent for a moment, while the guy with the hearing Alice concentrated on finding out what was happening at the front gate.

'Eh! He is!' the guy exclaimed. Instantly, the whole class went rushing out of the classroom.

Mikan looked around for her friend, wanting to drag her quickly over to the crowd that had formed by the front gate, except that she was nowhere to be found. Mikan was confused. 'Eh…?'

'Mikan-chan! Hurry!' Nonoko and Anna cried, gesturing for her to follow them. Tossing aside the thought of searching for her fried, Mikan dashed out of the classroom.

**In the Hospital…**

'Ah, I'm feeling nostalgic!' Mouri Reo stretched his arms as he and his bodyguards as well as the doctor and escort strolled down the corridor. 'Whew! The silence is sure a relief from the cheering outside.'

'I apologise for the misconduct of our students, Mouri-kun. We were not able to contain the news of your arrival with only the necessary personnel,' the escort apologized sincerely.

'Come to think of it… where's that little girl I was supposed to meet?' Reo wondered out loud.

'She's in the recording room getting ready.' Reo looked up at smiled at his senior.

'Naru-senpai,' Reo grinned and greeted Narumi. Narumi nodded and joined the group. Reo asked, 'So how're you doing?'

'Like a teacher should be doing,' Narumi shrugged. 'How about you?'

'Great!' Reo gave a thumbs-up. 'I can't wait for the recording.'

Narumi casted him a glance. 'May I ask why you chose Yukiko-chan instead of the more experienced ones within this Academy?'

Reo put on a thoughtful expression for a moment before answering cheerfully, 'She's good, that' why. I heard her performance at the competition and I just knew that she'll be the suitable accompaniment for this song. I wanted to perform a duet with her.'

Narumi whistled, 'So you like her playing?'

Reo nodded. 'It's great. I know her standard is high. I mean, Beethoven's Spring Sonata is good but when she played it I was really taken aback. Her accompaniment wasn't up to her standard, which was too bad, but it was still really great!'

'To hear my kohai rambling about a 10 year old girl... Ha ha!' Narumi laughed. Reo joined in too, and the two of them were chuckling all the way to their destination.

**Later that day in the recording room…**

The door swung open to reveal Maori Reo, Narumi and a few other random sponsors. Yuki, who was tuning her violin, looked up at the sound of the door opening. Reo strolled in and his eyes landed on the girl.

'Yo.' He gave a small wave.

Yuki stood up and bowed. 'Shirogane Yukiko. Pleased to meet you.'

Reo walked up to her and patted her head. 'You look shorter than you were up on stage. Did you grow at all?'

Yuki bit her lip and forced her feet to stay on the floor in fear that she'll stomp on his foot for calling her short. Reo realized how bad that comment was and he gulped, 'So sorry. I didn't mean to insult you.'

'It's alright. Can we go on with the recording?' Yuki took a step back and held the violin at chest level.

'Sure!' He spun around and pulled Yuki to the sound-proof room by her arm. He guided her to her position and got into his.

'I'll sing on the first round so that you'll get the feel of the song and you'll play on the second, alright? Then we'll do a combine on the third,' Reo said to Yuki, who nodded. He put on the headphone and gestured for the ones outside to play the music.

And he began to sing. Yuki, who also had her head phones on, nodded to the time of the music and her fingers made movements on the violin, as if she was playing it as well.

'It's nice…' Yuki said after he had finished singing. Reo smiled.

'That's all?'

'…It sounds like there's another motive rather than just love,' Yuki commented reluctantly. Reo looked surprised but then he smiled again and patted her head.

'Is that so? Your turn. Make it sound like you have another motive when you play it too then,' he gestured for the music to play and Yuki raised her bow. She began to play…

**Next Day at the Concert Stadium…**

"REO-SAMA!' The crazy fan girls were going berserk and they kept screaming their idol's name like a bunch of hysterical fans. None of them noticed the absence of a few Elementary Division students.

Up in somewhere near the stage, Mikan and Hotaru were climbing in a very dark and dirty vent. Mikan winced at the deafening sound of screams and commented, 'They're really going crazy there, aren't they?'

'Hurry up, it's going to start soon,' Hotaru chided irritably. Mikan took one final turn and they both fell onto the small and narrow open corridor just above the stage.

Reo walked out onto the stage, waving his arms at the audience. Mikan and Hotaru's cameras were centered on him as he turned to face the audience. Hotaru was already snapping the button like mad while Mikan prepared to take one.

'Ara?' Mikan focused on the figure that had followed Reo up stage. 'Yuki-chan!'

Yuki stood near the centre of the stage, dressed in a dark red Lolita dress with black lace. Her hair was tied into two ponytails and secured with red and black ribbons. The black blindfold had been removed and replaced with a pair of stylish sunglasses.

'Everyone, it's my pleasure to be here today! This is my partner, Shirogane Yukiko, and she'll be performing with me with the violin!' Reo announced. The fans were either crazy with the sight of their idol or furious that Yuki was standing on the same stage as the famous singer. Either way, the noise just got louder.

Reo clapped his hands and the music blared to life. Yuki raised her bow and drew one long note before both Reo and Yuki began their striking song. Mikan gaped at the sight of her friend playing the violin with the singer while Hotaru's finger was on autopilot.

'Why is Yuki there?' Mikan leaned against the railings to get a better look at her.

'Who knows? That might just explain why she was missing so often the past week or so. The disappearance last night as well,' Hotaru continued to snap photos while her eyes were directed towards her friend. 'One thing's for sure. Yuki-chan knew that Reo was coming way before us and she was hiding it.' Hotaru looked annoyed and a dark aura flew out of her.

Mikan chuckled nervously. 'I'm sure she had her reasons. If word got out then it'll be disastrous!' She didn't notice the small dagger flying towards her and when it made contact with her hand, she lost her grip and fell out of the stage, bringing a portion of the metal railing with her.

The metal railing landed with a clang. Mikan found herself in Reo's arms. 'Reo…' Mikan exclaimed.

'Ah… what're you doing here?' Reo asked kindly as he helped her stand up. It took Mikan a second to comprehend that the music had all suddenly stopped. She looked around for her friend, only to find her kneeling on the floor, clutching her left shoulder. One of her ponytails were undone and the hair fell across her face, shielding them from the audience but leaving it exposed for both Reo and Mikan to see the slightly pained look on her face. The violin that was supposed to be on her shoulder was laying mangled on the floor along side with the metal railing. She took the next second to understand what had happened.

'Yuki-chan!' Mikan rushed over to her friend. Reo stood up slowly but then his face scrunched up in pain and he dropped to the floor, clutching his knee in pain. Mikan whirled around to see the singer on the floor. 'Reo!'

The security guards rushed onto stage and paramedics arrived soon after. Mikan was dragged off the stage and left in a corner while the adults busied themselves with getting the two injured to the hospital.

**Hospital… When Mikan, Hotaru and Sumire were trying to sneak in…**

'Hey! Hotaru!' Mikan yelled, chasing after her friend who had dashed off to avoid being caught by the teachers who was swarming into the building. 'Mou… Let's run, Permy!'

'No need to tell me that!' Sumire snarled, grabbing Mikan's arm and pulling her into a ward which they both recognized as Natsume's. They closed the door gently and darted under a makeshift bed that was somehow sitting there in the first-class ward. A minute later, the voices outside died and Mikan got ready to crawl out.

'Wait!' Sumire hissed, pulling Mikan back under the bed by her blouse. 'Someone's coming!'

Barely a second later, the door opened and from under the bed, Mikan and Sumire saw a pair of sleek black shoes move in quietly and smoothly, as if the owner of that pair of shoes was gliding on ice. Sumre peered out from under the bed and stifled a gasp quickly when she saw who it was. Mikan peered out too and her eyes widened considerable. Reo, the big star, was visiting Natsume in his room while he was still asleep?

'What's he doing here? This is Natsume-sama's room!' Sumire hissed angrily, afraid to raise her voice another notch in fear of being discovered.

'Sh! Watch what he's doing!' Mikan hissed back. She turned on the recording function for both her ring as well as her bracelet, which would record the sounds as well as the scene respectively. She secretly thanked Hotaru for providing these gadgets for the infiltration, even though she was not that keen on paying for them later. Mikan and Sumire watched Reo make his way to Natsume's bed and lean over him, loosening his earring at the same time.

'Hello, Black Cat…' Reo's velvety voice came leaking out. Reo smirked, 'So… you will listen to me, Black Cat.'

Natsume's eyes snapped open and he struggled to get out from under Reo. Reo pinned him down with both his arms and he commanded firmly, 'Stay put!' The Voice Pheromone was so strong Sumire felt the effects of it too. Natsume's face was strained with the effort to resist the overwhelming effects of the Pheromone, and he continued to struggle under the weight of Reo, who was now sitting on his stomach and pinning his arms above his head. Reo frowned slightly, displeased by the still resisting boy. He leaned close to Natsume's ear, and forced as much pheromone into the two words he was saying, 'Good night.'

Natsume's eyes went blank and they closed. His body stilled and was no longer struggling. Reo smirked and got off the bed and made his way to the window, making a hand signal. A few seconds later, a man teleported into the room.

'Take him to the trunk. Remember the procedure. I'll go get the "Angel".' Reo's voice was business-like and he left the room swiftly. The man bowed at his leaving and picked up Natsume and carried him bridal-style. The next moment he was gone, teleported.

'What was that about?' Sumire hissed in shock. Mikan ignored her and she was busy configuring the recording devices.

'We have to get this to someone… then we go chase Reo!' Mikan declared.

'How? We can't leave the Academy just like that!' Sumire argued. She got out from under the bed and dusted her skirt. 'We won't even know where they are!'

'Yuki-chan can-' Mikan stopped short. Her eyes glassed over and her jaw dropped. She said in a deathly whisper, 'Angel… he's trying to get Yuki-chan!'

'Shirogane? But why?' Sumire snorted in disbelief.

'You may not know it but Yuki-chan's Alice is much sought after. The large boundaries she can cover with just water… the AAO must be trying to use her power…' Mikan gasped in horror. 'We have to go get her!'

'No! If we rush to her room, it'll be too late. We'll go to the main gate and chase after Reo. If we don't, we can report it to the teachers. Saving Natsume comes first!' Sumire grabbed Mikan's arm and rushed them both out of the room and out of the hospital.

'But… Yuki-chan!' Mikan protested, though she made no move to pull back her hand.

'If we can catch Reo, we can get both Natsume and Shirogane. But if we go to Shirogane's room now, we may not even have time to reach the main gate!' Sumire argued back. Mikan fell silent. The argument had won her over, even though she knew from the start that this was the best solution.

'_What's wrong? What's been clouding my judgment lately? Had it been Yuki-chan who faced this situation, she'd decide on this route within seconds. Why was I hesitating? Yuki-chan…'_

'Quick! They're almost leaving!' Sumire yelled the moment she caught sight of the black limo.

'Hotaru-chan!' Mikan shouted anxiously to her friend. Hotaru, who was taking photos, looked up at the sound of her voice.

'Mikan…? What's wrong?' Hotaru sensed the urgency in her tone.

'Here!' Mikan tossed the bracelet and the ring to her. 'Help us create a diversion! Hurry, there's no time!'

Hotaru didn't waste another second deliberating. She grabbed a ball from her pocket and threw it to the ground with hard force. It exploded and a pink gas filled the area. 'Now!'

Mikan and Sumire dashed after the departing car, narrowly avoiding the guards and slipping past the closing gates. They got up quickly and pursued the limo.

'_Wait for me, Yuki-chan… I'll definitely get you back…' _Mikan thought resolutely as she dashed after the limo with Sumire by her side.

**In the warehouse beside the pier… AAO's secret hideout…**

'Urgh…' A moan escaped from the black haired girl's lips. She sat up slowly, painfully aware of the strain and pain the ropes binding her arms behind her back was causing her. She groaned softly and concentrated hard as to how she got to this dirty and hard cement floor.

_Flash Back…_

_Reo sauntered into the room in a slightly hasty pace. Glancing around, he located the dark-haired girl leaning on the white-washed walls. Yuki looked up, revealing the black blindfold with red designs that went unexpectedly well with the uniform she was now donning. _

'_Hey,' Reo grinned._

'…_So you snuck out?' Yuki raised her eyebrows. 'Not that it surprised me. You're hardly the best actor around.'_

_Reo paused for a brief second, but replaced his mask instantly. He chuckled, 'So you found out that I was faking that injury. Not bad, considering that you can't see. How did you do it?'_

'_Why should I tell you?' Yuki retorted monotonously. She folded her arms and asked sharply, 'The one that made Mikan-chan fall… was it you?'_

'_And what if it was?' Reo replied coldly._

'…_Then I won't forgive you for that,' Yuki replied in an equally cold tone. 'You'll be marked as my enemy from now on.'_

_Reo smirked, 'Ah, but that won't do.' He charged forward and pinned the unsuspecting girl to the wall. He glanced at the medical report on the wall, all the while keeping a firm grip on the struggling girl. He whistled when he found what he had been looking for. 'So, you dislocated your shoulder, huh? Judging by the absence of a sling, you probably threw it away. Ah, there it is, under the bed.' Reo tisked. 'You're a very bad little girl, Yukiko-chan. You should listen to what the adults tell you to do. But then again, not all adults deserve to be trusted.'_

'_What do you want?' Kazane hissed out harshly. Reo grabbed her left shoulder forcefully and squeezed it tightly. Yuki gasped and her breathing hitched. _

'_You, of course,' Reo breathed into her ear. He loosened his earring quickly and activated his voice pheromone. 'Go to sleep.'_

'_You-' Yuki squirmed in his grasp, trying her hardest to block out the pheromone-laced voice that was slowly luring her to unconsciousness. 'You work for the AAO, don't you? What would the AAO want from me? I'm blind, I'm a child-'_

'_You're one of the most important children in the Black Halloween,' Reo finished the sentence, whispering it almost inaudibly in her ear. Yuki stiffened and glared up at him, but naturally he couldn't see that._

'_What are you talking about?' Yuki hissed out. Reo shoved her shoulder into the wall, causing a large "crack" sound to be echoed throughout the room. Yuki seems dazed for a while. Reo smirked, knowing that the move had silenced her up using pain. _

'_I'll tell this civilly only one more time. Go to sleep. You're exhausted. Rest, and everything shall be alright once you wake up,' Reo whispered seductively in her ear. Yuki went limp and she dropped into his arms._

'_No… you're wrong. Nothing will ever… go right when Alices are involved…' Yuki argued weakly before finally dropping into unconsciousness, due to both the pain as well as the pheromone._

_Reo stared silently at the girl. His mouth produced the words reluctantly, 'You may be right.'_

_End of Flashback…_

'Ngh…' Mikan stirred in her sleep. Yuki turned quickly to the direction of the noise, anxious to know if her companions were awake or not.

'Mikan! Are you awake?' Sumire's whispered voice whipped out sharply but softly. Mikan groaned in response.

'Where… are we…?' Mikan moaned out.

'Sh! They're coming!' Sumire hissed. They fell silent as footfalls were heard approaching.

'Are they awake?' The voice of Reo was recognized easily by all three and they stiffened.

'No, sir,' another man replied. 'What are we going to do with them?'

Reo approached the four students lying on the floor and kicked Natsume in the gut. He smirked and said, 'How amusing. The Black Cat is under the mercy of the AAO. We'll ship him off to the foreign AAO branch the moment the boat is here.'

'Sir. And the other three girls?'

'The black haired one stays with me. As for the other two… I'll find out their Alices and make a decision then. We'll probably sell them off or something if they're good. If not, we'll dispose of them.'

'_Dispose?' _Sumire thought frantically. She cracked open an eyelid and peered at Mikan. She had a calm and neutral expression on her face, as though she was not perturbed by the information.

'Sir…'

'What?' Reo snapped.

'Why are you keeping that girl with you? Why not sell her off with the others?'

There was the sound of a scuffle, and then Reo came hissing, 'That is reserved for the higher ups to know. But I can tell you all this much… She's wanted by every Alice organization out there, including the Alice Academy, just that they don't know the real identity of the Angel.'

'_Angel? What are they talking about?'_ Sumire thought. _'Could he mean that Shirogane is a wanted girl? Did she do something bad?'_

'Sir… is it true that she came from the Black Halloween?'

Shock ran through all three girls. Mikan and Yuki tensed up while Sumire was simply in shock, unable to believe her ears.

'That I'm not sure, but I can bet you that she has some relation to it. After all, they were the ones that leaked the information to us,' Reo was yawning. 'I'll go take a nap. Wake me up when they wake up or when the boat's here… whatever…' There was footsteps leading away from the area, and at last it was quiet. The girls relaxed slightly.

'What was that about?' Sumire hissed.

'I don't know, but let's get out first. Yuki-chan, are you awake?' Mikan nudged her friend with her shoulder.

'In pain, but yes, I'm awake,' Yuki grimaced, reminded of the throbbing pain her shoulder was in.

'Natsume?'

'Hn…'

'…When?'

'Just after he left, I think,' Natsume grunted.

'…That's amazing,' Yuki chuckled quietly. 'Hyuuga-kun answered in more than 3 words.'

'Hn.'

'Anyways, can you use your fire Alice?' Mikan asked quickly.

'I'm trying, Polka-Dots,' Natsume grunted. A faint smell of smoke flowed out. Natsume reached over and untied Mikan's bindings before falling back onto the floor in exhaustion.

'Thanks,' Mikan whispered. She untied the other two quickly and sat up. 'Permy, can you use your cat-dog Alice to find out where we are?'

Sumire stuck her nose up into the air and folded her arms, though the whiskers could be seen protruding her cheeks. Mikan smiled softly and glanced at Yuki. She had a hand in her pocket and Mikan didn't need any more explanation to know what she was doing. After a while, Sumire spoke up, 'Darn, why is it so hard to keep up my Alice now… We're close to the sea. This place should be a warehouse of some sort… and I smell explosives. They're roughly 3 to 4 warehouses away. '

'Good,' Mikan grinned and pulled out her panda styled communicator from her bag. 'I can narrow it down to only a few due to your description, but judging from the duration we were out cold, I can confirm that, if no planes were involved, we can only be at one particular harbor.'

'Ah… it's that harbor, isn't it…' Yuki murmured. Mikan nodded slightly and it went unnoticed by the other two.

'I'll try to contact Hotaru. Keep an eye out for them,' Mikan instructed. Yuki and Sumire glared at each other.

'You go,' they said at the same time. More glaring.

'I'm blind.'

'Darn, you win heads down,' Sumire cursed and went to the entrance of the little corner they were kept at.

Mikan flicked the switch that turned on the communicator and waited tensely for Hotaru's to pick up. It was only buzzing for a while until a soft voice came out.

"**Mikan? Is that you?"**

'Hotaru-chan? It's me. We're in a harbor right now. Reo is planning to ship us away. He's from the AAO,' the words came out disorganized and in a rush.

"**Hold on. Narumi-sensei wants to talk." **There was a slight clatter and a male voice surfaced.

"**Mikan-chan? Yukiko-chan? Are you alright?"**

'Um…' Mikan glanced around. 'Yuki-chan's shoulder is still hurting I think and Natsume-kun is exhausted. Me and Permy are alright.'

"**Where are you right now?"**

'The harbor closest to the Academy. The one facing the sea,' Mikan replied.

"**Right. Help will be there soon. Can you identify anyone there?"**

'Reo. He's part of the AAO,' Mikan whispered.

There was gasps heard. Mikan assumed that Hotaru had set the communicator so that everyone could hear the conversation. Narumi was back on. **"Mikan-chan. What ever you do, don't tell him your Alice. Don't listen to him. He'll try to use his Voice Pheromone on you-"**

'Really, Naru-senpai. You distrust me that much already?' The communicator was yanked out of Mikan's small hands. Mikan and Yuki both looked up. Reo and a few other guards were standing there. Sumire looked shocked.

'…You came from above?' Yuki asked.

'Yep. I knew that that little girl over there was keeping an eye out but I doubt she thought of looking **up**. It's so easy to get here, just like taking candy from a baby,' Reo taunted. He glanced back to the communicator. 'Yo, Naru-senpai. As you can… hear… I have four of your treasured students in my hands right now. You won't be seeing them soon. And by soon… I mean never.'

"**Reo-"**

CRACK. Reo threw it onto the floor and stomped on it. Sumire backed up against the wall, looking terrified.

'So, you little rats have been awake for some time now, huh?' Reo walked over to Sumire while loosening his earring.

Mikan realized what he was doing and shouted, 'Cover your ears!'

'Tell me your Alice,' Reo said, his voice laced with his Voice Pheromone.

'Uh… it's… Somatic…' Sumire gripped her throat, struggling to keep her mouth closed.

'Permy!' Mikan yelled, spreading out her Nullification Alice. Sumire was instantly released from the Pheromone Alice and she dropped back down in relief.

'Baka Mikan,' Yuki muttered, reaching into her boot to draw a small dagger.

'Ah… you released her from my Alice?' Reo turned to Mikan, a new, greedy expression on his face. Mikan gulped and backed away. Reo strode to Mikan and gripped her arm tightly, raising her above the ground. Reo smirked and stared into her face. 'Now that you caught my attention… you look awfully like that woman…'

'Let her go,' the sharp, angry voice was accompanied by the throw of a random piece of metal found on the ground. The useless lump of metal became useful by hitting Reo straight on the base of the neck, causing him to cry out in pain and release Mikan. Mikan crawled quickly to Yuki and Natsume, both who were releasing deadly auras of anger.

'Whoah, so the two most vulnerable ones are actually the two in the best physical condition, huh?' Reo smirked though the wincing from the pain could still be seen on his face. He took a step forward, causing all of them to back away at one.

'Reo, if you value the alliance, I suggest you stay away right now. I have authority to cancel whatever you have put up with them,' Yuki warned quietly. Reo paused and deliberated.

'You're a mean one, you know?' Reo laughed and turned away. 'No matter. I can't have me efforts go to waste right when I have you all just in a moment's grasp away. I'll go, I'll go. Doesn't matter anyways, since the boat will be here in a few…' He walked away, laughing softly. The guards followed him warily, glancing back at them.

With shaky legs, Sumire walked over and dropped down to where the others were. Natsume breathed heavily and clutched his heart in pain. Yuki was massaging her shoulder, wincing now and then. Mikan looked around and whispered, 'We have to get out of here… like… right now. Before they bring in the boat.'

'Why? They'll bring us out when the boat comes. We can escape then,' Sumire argued.

'How can you guarantee that they'll let us go consciously?' Yuki retorted gently. Sumire bit her lips and looked away.

'Help is coming but we can't rely on that. Sumire, you take Natsume and leave first. Me and Yuki will distract them before following. We'll aim to meet up with the people from the Academy,' Mikan ordered.

'How can you escape with a blind, for god's sake!' Sumire hissed angrily. 'I'm fine with Natsume-sama but what about you?'

'Hyuuga-kun needs medical attention. Shouda-san, you're defenseless. Look how much you were shaking just now. If it's anyone that's the most vulnerable to them, it's you two,' Yuki said. 'Mikan and I can defend ourselves. With her Nullification, she can block out any Alice attacks. I also have my Alice. I can see what they'll do next. You two have to escape first, or we all will never make it.'

'Hn. You two are smarter than you look,' Natsume growled. He got to his knees and stood up shakily. 'The explosives nearby… within ten minutes, I'll blow them up.'

'Understood,' Yuki replied. Sumire gaped.

'Why?'

'To prevent us from getting into the enemies' hands,' Mikan told her quietly.

They got up and took a deep breath. Yuki extended a hand to everyone else. 'May we meet again in the Academy.' All four put their hands together and nodded.

'…We have to leave now. Sumire, take Natsume and run as far as you can to the city. They won't do anything dangerous there. Ten minutes, Natsume. Here's a watch,' Mikan tossed a watch fished out from her kit given to her by Hotaru. Natsume caught it and raised an eyebrow.

'It's Hotaru's. if you break it, you're paying,' warned Mikan.

'Hn.'

'Ok… Here's to our meeting then.' Yuki took out her Alice stone and hung it around her neck, tucking it in so that it could have contact with her skin. She drew her dagger and dashed out, throwing it swiftly to the nearest guard. It hit him on the shoulder and blood spurted out. It caught the rest's attention easily.

'Now!' Mikan yelled. Sumire wound an arm around Natsume and they ran out.

'Reo-sama!' One of the guards shouted.

'I know!' Reo gritted his teeth and jumped down from the crate he was resting on.

'Don't you or anyone from this warehouse take another step out, Reo,' Mikan warned, picking up the gun dropped by the fallen guard and pointing it at the red-haired man.

'You… are also part of the Black Halloween?' Reo questioned.

'…I'm under Yuki. If she commands me, I shall obey,' Mikan responded.

Reo laughed, 'So you two are the little ones under Project A! Ha! I never thought I'd have such good luck. If I secure you two, the Black Halloween will surely give us their cooperation!'

'Mikan, shoot.' Yuki commanded. Mikan's eyes widened.

'Why?'

'Shoot those at the door and run. I'll hold them off,' Yuki said.

'Why?'

'Mikan!'

Mikan bit her lip and her hands shook violently. She closed her eyes and lowered her gun.

'Baka Mikan!' Yuki hissed, snatching the gun out of her hands and firing three consecutive shots at the men at the door. They fell like swatted flies, though they were far from dead. 'Run!'

Mikan took off without another thought, leaving Yuki, Reo, and a few other terrified men standing in the warehouse. Reo raised his eyebrows, eyeing the gun-wielding blind girl with curiosity and wariness. Yuki cocked the gun and aimed it at Reo, shaking her head slightly.

'You let her run just like that? What about you?' Reo asked, raising his hands so that Yuki would be less tempted to shoot… or so he thought.

'No worries,' Yuki replied simply. In no less than a second, the remaining guards were knocked out by someone else and all that was left in the warehouse was Yuki, Reo and the newcomer that knocked everyone out.

'Who're you?' Reo drew his own gun and pointed it at the newcomer.

'Kisaragi, don't hurt him,' Yuki said in a light but serious tone. 'Don't let your manly thoughts get to you.'

'I know. Don't want to draw attention, do you?' the newcomer named Kisaragi scoffed. He pocketed his gun and placed his hands on his hips. 'I've got strict orders to keep you safe from these goons and nothing else.'

Reo eyed the male warily, taking a step back.

'Hey, relax. I won't hurt you unless you hurt me or her first. Look, just turn around and walk away and everything will be alright,' Kisaragi waved his hands at Reo. 'If you're lucky, the higher ups may just give you another chance.'

'… You're another of them too?'

'What do you think?' he rolled his eyes. 'I'm trained to take out a man in less than 5 seconds. If you want to live, please leave right now. You know, you made a serious error in choosing this place. This harbor is practically one of the homes of the Black Halloween. Many of our agents come and go here. It's easy enough to know that you took two of our little treasures and are planning to take them away to your palace with you.'

Reo bit his lips so hard it drew blood and turned away, breaking into a dash the moment he was out of the warehouse. Yuki sighed and dropped the gun to the floor.

'Kisaragi.'

'Got it. Which one?'

'All of them.'

Kisaragi coughed. 'Even the little pigtails? Isn't she on our side? I don't need to fabricate her memory, do I?'

'Just fabricate all three of them, Kisaragi. It'll make things easier for me,' Yuki sighed. 'I'll pretend to be the poor thing that lost part of her memory of the incident in the explosion.'

'What explosion?' he asked sharply.

'In less than a minute, the warehouse containing our explosives will go ka-boom and the ones within a few miles' radius will be affected too,' Yuki sat down on the cement floor, flexing her shoulder slightly.

'… You better stay alive. I've got a match to settle with you. Oh, and for good measure…' Kisaragi shot her in the leg with his gun and disappeared into the darkness outside, quickly and silently.

'Thanks a lot, now my mobility is decreased even further,' said Yuki sarcastically the walls of the warehouse as she poked the gunshot wound which was spurting blood. 'And what match?…Oh right. I think he means the time I won him in a friendly match back when we trained together at headquarters…'

Her musings were cut short by the explosion 3 warehouses away, which enveloped the 5 warehouses within vicinity in flames

Strange, considering that ten minutes had barely come.

Strange, that Yuki seemed to know that it'll explode even though it had been barely five minutes.

**Whew! That took as long time. I hope this makes up for my late update. The appearance of the other OC (Kisaragi) will not go to waste! If everything goes well, you'll see him another two times or so in the remaining parts… Yeah… I purposely left the description of his appearance because I want him to remain mysterious!!! Please tell me how you think. Oh yeah, the new poll for YukiX? Will be out soon so please vote! Since no one has expressed any interest in any particular character, I'll just go default mode and list every possible character I thought of.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I still can't believed i finished this chapter. Ok, I'm taking ages to update, I know. I actually feel very bad because I have at least one story update in my email inbox every day and I haven't been updating often. I'm so SORRY !!! Please forgive me, fellow readers, for my incompetence. Please enjoy the latest chapter of Feathers of an Angel!**

**Black Halloween Central Headquarters, conference room.**

The conference room was currently housing ten individuals, all seated and staring at the only one standing –obviously the boss of the place. They were fidgeting and were either taping their fingers impatiently on the wooden desk or toying with their pens, having a silent competition to see who could produce the most amazing pen trick in that time. All were irritated by the stuffy room and the long wait.

'Hey, old man, get on with it!' One of them complained impatiently. 'At least explain why we're in this room instead of the _air-conditioned _NORMAL conference room that is more suited for meetings with all the higher-ups.'

'Patience, No.6. You may be the 6th highest ranking in this room but you are in no position to kick up such a childish fuss, especially when No.1 is here,' a lady seated primly near the head of the desk scolded with a severe tone. 'Anymore and you'll be forced to leave this room.'

The old man smirked and laughed, 'It's quite alright, No.3, I don't mind answering that question. No.6, this room is protected by any possible means you can possibly think of. If you threw a bomb at the building, this room will remain standing. If there was a smoke attack, all vents can be turned off with a flick of a button and we'll be safe from any outside attacks for at least the next 24 hours. Most importantly, it's Alice proof. No effects of an Alice would be able to enter or escape. No Alice can be used to attack, infiltrate or spy on this room. This is necessary, since the meeting cannot be leaked to those other than the ones in this room. Now… let us start…'

At once, ten gold objects were raised. All of them held out a golden pair of bat-wings attached to a chain. Each pair of bat wings had a number inscribed on the right wing. Some held it out proudly, while others dangled it from the chain with their fingers. The old man, holding up this own pair that was hanging from his neck, scanned the room and nodded. He sat down and began the meeting.

'Good, all is in order. We're here to discuss the alliance with the AAO, one of the possible organizations for our alliance. Recently, it has been reported that an agent from the AAO kidnapped the two experiments under Project A and intended to ship them to their own base. It has been concluded that the AAO had no intention of forming an equal alliance with us, judging from their actions, and thus we have to re-evaluate our decision of letting his be part of the alliance.' The old man pressed a button on the desk and a slide show showed up on the screen. It showed pictures of Reo kidnapping the students, as well as the events that transpired.

'Ah… the little pigtails and the short stack Black Angel…' No.6 raised his eyebrows. He sniggered when he saw the pictures of Yuki pointing the gun at Reo and him fleeing the scene.

'He dared to aggravate the injury of our Angel?' No.3 slammed a fist on the table, completely shattering her calm and demure mask. 'The Angel is our gem! The sole person we can rely to stand Project A! What will he do to compensate for her is she is unable to continue on with the Project? The other girl is completely unreliable!'

'Now, now. That's of no worry right now. Inside sources from the Alice Academy has confirmed that our Angel is resting and recovering well from the incident. Right now… Kisaragi-kun, come out,' the old man barked at the side door. It opened and a teen hiding under a hoodie and skinny jeans came out. He bowed and proceeded to give his report.

'I'm Kisaragi Jin, copper-silver rank,' Kisaragi lifted his pair of bat-wings. It was half copper, half silver. The old man nodded and gestured for him to proceed. Sighing, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and continued, 'At around midnight, I was informed from agents at our key harbor, also known as harbor 241 to us, that some AAO goons were transporting our two agents into a warehouse. Further investigating revealed that they were planning to bring them to their own headquarters. I was not informed of such a move that had obtained approval by the higher-ups, so I acted to retrieve both of them.'

'Wise decision, Kisaragi-kun. Anything else?'

'Sure do, No.1,' Kisaragi's smirk was directed to the old man. There were a few outraged glares at the young teen but they were dismissed with a wave of a hand. 'The AAO is a wimpy organization.'

'Very nice observation, Kisaragi,' A young man sitting near upper part of the desk said dryly. 'I'm sure we can see from here that the AAO is worse than wimpy, seeing that not even one of them are able to defend against _girls _half their age and can barely remain standing when faced with a gun barrel.'

'No.5…' No.3 murmured. 'I have never heard you made such a great inference before. Who was your teacher? I must have this wonderful benefactor's name so that I can reward him with enough money to fund the whole of his life for ridding the organization of a stupid higher-up.'

'Shut up,' No.5 huffed and leaned back into his chair.

The old man at front, No.1, smiled and tapped the desk, raising everyone's attention immediately. He cleared his throat and said, 'It appears that we have gone too far off topic… Now… say, No.10, what do you think we should do to handle this situation?'

The last man at the table, sitting farthest away from the old man, looked up and said, while fiddling with his pen, 'Ah… they're still a valuable organization. After all, they're the first group we approved of, so it'll be a waste if we give them up completely. Uh…I suggest… why not make them start over…?'

'Erase their records and make them redo their negotiations? Oh… nice…' a lady sitting next to him grinned and rested her head on her palms. The bat wings hanging from her neck glinted and showed the numeral "8". 'That's a nice suggestion. It's so amusing too… to see them frantically negotiating and bargaining to get back into our good books… hey, why not we send ambassadors to the AA too… that way their reactions will be even more hilarious!'

'A sadist as ever, No.8…' No.6 sniggered. 'I like it though.'

'Hm… No.2?' the old man gestured for the man sitting on his right side.

'It's an acceptable solution. I see no problems in doing it… although it shouldn't merely be for entertainment, No.8.'

'You're no fun, No.2. You never were!' No.8 whined and pouted. He laughed briefly.

'It appears that we have a plausible solution. All in favor?' the old man raised his hand. Everyone in the room raised their hands, including Kisaragi who hid his behind his back. The old man nodded, and got up. 'I shall put No.10 and Kisaragi Jin in charge of this mission.'

The meeting was over.

**Alice Academy, Hospital Room 253…**

Light streamed in from the window and made the impossibly white room even whiter and more glaring to the eye. The small occupant on the bed groaned at the blinding light and shielded her eyes, curling into a ball.

'MIKAN!'

'Eh!' Mikan shot out of bed and sat upright. She looked around and saw her classmates sniggering and laughing at her reaction. She turned around and glared at the person at the window, who was responsible for pulling back the curtains, only to find the offender to be Yuki.

'Awake yet, sleeping beauty?' Hotaru loaded her Baka gun, ready to shoot regardless of the answer she will receive.

'I am! I am!' Mikan said in a panic. 'I'm wide awake, thanks to Yuki-chan!'

'I'm sorry. I was not aware of how bright the light actually was. I'm blind, you see,' Yuki smiled sweetly from the window, sending chills down most people's spine. 'You were asleep for quite a while. It's the day before the official start of the Alice Festival now. You should get back up and help out with the remaining preparations for the Festival.'

'Yuki-chan…' Mikan pouted and looked down. She spotted the strips of white bandages bounded tightly around Yuki's lower thigh and gasped. She exclaimed, 'Yuki-chan! Your leg!'

'Hm?' Yuki raised her injured leg. 'This? I got it from the incident. Someone shot me, I think. It's a gun-shot wound. At least, that's what the doctor told me.'

'Yuki-chan…' Mikan's eye watered and she lunged forward to hug her friend.

BAKA! BAKA! The mysterious bullets from Hotaru's Baka gun shot out quickly and whacked Mikan on the head. Mikan yelped in pain and stopped dead in her tracks… uh… lunge… and clutched her head. Hotaru wielded her gun expertly and prepared to shoot if Mikan made any more reckless and possibly dangerous moves.

'Hotaru-chan…' Mikan whined. Hotaru raised an eyebrow at her, provoking more whining and tears. Yuki sighed and shook her head.

'Anyways…I think I've got to go…' Yuki said as she turned towards the door. In no less than a second, it opened and two nurses rushed in.

'Yukiko-chan! Why are you out of bed? I know this is just the room down the corridor but you're still injured! Your wounds are extensive! You shouldn't b moving about so much. How's your leg? Is it bleeding again? Oh, I can see blood there. Yes, that little spot. That wound shouldn't be bleeding anymore. Look what you did, you little stubborn girl. Do you want to get better or not?' The nurses pushed Yuki onto a wheelchair and wheeled her out, nagging at her all the while. The occupants of the room stared as the scene unfolded, most eyelids twitching at the "motherly love" showered onto Yuki by the nurses.

'Hotaru-chan… what happened to Yuki-chan?' Mikan asked as she sat back onto her bed.

'Gunshot wound on her thigh, as you can see. She also had burns from the explosion,' Hotaru informed. Seeing Mikan's blank look, she said, 'Didn't you see? The explosion was quite big. You and Natsume barely escaped the fire. Yuki, meanwhile, was stuck in one of the warehouses that caught fire. It took a while before she was rescued and she suffered burns.'

'I didn't know…' Mikan whispered. 'Why didn't Yuki escape? I… I don't remember what exactly happened at that time…'

'Neither does she. She said she forgot what happened in the warehouse after you attempted to escape. She must have hit her head or something…' Hotaru pocketed her Baka gun. 'I've got to go. There are still preparations for the Festival that needs to be completed. You should go around to your attraction too. They must be behind schedule, with two of their members hospitalized and all.'

'Ok…' Mikan pouted. The rest left the room and left Mikan to wait for the doctor to give her the green light to be discharged.

'Oh yeah,' Hotaru paused by the doorway. 'You owe me 150 rabbits for the infiltration kit. You used nearly everything inside so I'll have to charge you for the whole set.'

'Eh?' Mikan exclaimed. Hotaru left the room quickly. Mikan pouted some more and frowned. 'Strange… I don't remember touching even half of the stuff in there…'

**Hospital Room 270…**

The nurses wheeled Yuki into the room and lifted her onto the bed. They locked the bars on the hospital bed so that she couldn't get out without outside assistance. One of the nurses gazed at her disapprovingly and scolded, 'You shouldn't have gone out, you know. Now we have to redress your wounds… You aren't leaving this room until a healer comes and heals up your leg! And that's if you're good. If you're not, we'll keep you here for the rest of the week.'

'But isn't a doctor's job to keep the patient's well-being at the peak of what they can possibly manage?' Yuki retorted gently, almost sounding as if she was not retorting at all, as she had been doing for the past 5 minutes when the nurses started their nagging.

The nurses looked at each other and sighed. They shook their heads and left the room wearily, as if the short 5 minutes spent with the girl was the most exhausting eternity ever spent. Yuki smiled. Hospital: 0, Yuki: 1.

'_But… it is quite lonely here… I should have climbed out of the window just now to escape… but an injured _blind _person shouldn't be able to do that… A normal patient who has absolutely no tolerance for pain, that it,' _Yuki thought to herself and smiled faintly. She fingered the black blindfold covering her eyes. The one with red designs had apparently come loose during the fire and had been burnt to nothing. _'A pity… I really liked that one too…'_

The door opened again, and Yuki's ears picked up the sound of footfalls.

'Yes…?' Yuki turned to the direction of the door.

'Shirogane-chan,' the mature voice sounded in the quiet room. It sounded deep and stragely familiar… too familiar.

Yuki stiffened a bit. She licked her lips and replied smoothly, 'Sakurano-senpai, what brings you here today?'

'Can I not visit an injured patient, victim of our lack of vigilance at such a crucial time?' Sakurano walked over and sat down on the plastic foldy chair beside the bed. He smiled at her, though he knew she couldn't see it, and asked, 'How do you feel?'

'I've never been any better,' Yuki replied lightly, smiling as well. 'I almost didn't know I was injured.' Sarcasm was obvious.

Sakurano chuckled, 'I'm sure Subaru did his best on healing you. When you were brought into the hospital, your injuries were so bad that we almost thought you wouldn't survive. Subaru wheeled you into the operation room immediately and began healing your burns… he kept at it until he nearly passed out. Though, he says that you were very strong to have held out until your condition was finally stabilized. You healed quickly too.'

'I must thank him then.' Yuki brushed her fingers across her arms, feeling the layers of bandages wound around her. She imagined that she looked like a mummy on the outside. She touched her blindfold and told him reluctantly, 'I apologise. The blindfold you gave me… was lost in the fire.'

Sakurano shook it off. 'It doesn't matter. I'm just glad that you managed to get out in one piece, that's all… Not that you made it out in entirely one piece though. A bullet took a chunk out of your leg…'

'I can see… no, actually I feel. …Is there anything else?'

There was a brief pause. 'Nothing ever escapes you, does it?'

'If it was a gust of wind outside then of course I'd miss it,' Yuki replied.

Sakurano laughed lightly. 'Well… Actually, Subaru asked me if you were interested in… participating in a developing therapy for blindness. It's aimed at those that have lost their sight without actual damage to the eye itself. Well, we don't have many patients to work on so he'd appreciate it if you could join in the trial therapy.'

Yuki's figure was frozen. '…Is there a chance…?' Her voice became a whisper.

'It's a theory, but a very good one. I'm sure… that there's a high chance that it will succeed,' Sakurano leaned forward. 'We have the forms prepared. If you agree with it, just call me and I'll bring them over.' He got up and made his way to the door.

'Senpai, are you going to get the forms?' Yuki called. Sakurano stopped and looked back, puzzled. Yuki grinned and said, 'I've already decided. I'll do it.'

Sakurano said, 'You never fail to amaze me… I heard you did the same thing to Jinno-sensei.'

'Is that wrong?' Yuki tilted her head to the side. Sakurano shook his head and let the room with a slight smile.

**Dark room in Black Halloween Central Headquarters.**

Kisaragi lowered his hood and stared at the mirror in front of him. He clenched his teeth and punched the mirror, causing a large crack in it. He growled, 'Too much… Every time I look at myself, it reminds me too much of him…' He gave the mirror another punch. 'Damn…'

He grinded his teeth together and looked away, casting his gaze onto the stones lying on the bed. Sighing, he walked over to them and picked them up. The three cloudy white stones had a pink sheen to them and they glowed faintly. He cradled them in his hands and stared at them forlornly. _'So long since she has requested for me to do something like this… so long since I have pulled myself away from those fake ideals and tampered with another's memories…' _He fished another one from his pocket and looked at it too. The stone has a brighter shine to it and it sparkled in the darkness. He remembered who it was taken from. And what he had taken along with it.

'**They're memory stones, aren't they?' **his reflection in the mirror taunted. Even the broken glass couldn't mask the look of contempt on his reflection's face.

'You.' Kisaragi growled.

'**No need to get so angry. After all, I am no more than a fragment of your very own mind… placed by Father dearest,' **the reflection laughed. **'What did you do now? You listened to the little pip squeak, you fool. Not that I have any qualms with you using your powers… you're a hypocrite, you know that? You stressed how wrong it was to tamper with minds, yet you had no problems when it came to your father or the Angel. What is it, favoritism?'**

'Shut up, Shin!' Kisaragi yelled.

'**Shut up, Shin,' **Shin repeated sarcastically. **'Looks like you took some of the pip squeak's memory too…'**

'I did not. I duplicated it,' Kisaragi defended angrily.

'**Even so… You tampered with it and created one more copy of a memory that should not have existed. Memories with pleasant feelings glow brighter than others. That one looks very pleasant… Ah… I got it. You duplicated memories of her meeting with someone else, right?' **

'Shin…' Kisaragi warned dangerously. 'Shut up.'

'**How mean of you. If she knew… oh boy, she would be so mad…' **Shin laughed and threw up his arms. **'You took something else too, right?' **Shin reached into his pocket and revealed a black blindfold. Kisaragi bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything. Shin fingered the blindfold with a look of amusement. **'Really, Jin, you never took interest in someone else's possessions. Could it be… that you're jealous? Or that you're attached? Surely that can't be good for an agent of the Black Halloween.'**

'Shut up!' Kisaragi threw something lying on the bed at the mirror. It shattered into countless pieces, but not before Kisaragi could hear the maniacal laugh that echoed in his ears.

The door cracked open a fraction of an inch. 'Kisaragi-sama… preparations for you to enter the Academy is complete… No.3 has requested that you make your way down to the departure lobby in half an hour with your belongings.' The door closed abruptly and the room was once again cloaked in darkness.

Kisaragi lifted the four stones in his hands. He drew out the blindfold he had stolen from Yuki and sighed. Tossing them into the side pocket of a bag, he began throwing clothes into the bag messily. He paused while he was packing his things, glancing again at the brightly glowing stone in the bag.

'…The barrier of the room conceals what happens inside, but it doesn't conceal the hearts of the occupants. She will find out what happened in that room, surely. What happened just now, and what happened before.'

**Back at the Academy Hospital…**

Sakurano tidied up the papers scattered around the desk which Yuki was currently sitting at. Yuki sighed and stretched her hands, feeling the stretch after straining her hand to sign at least a hundred or so documents. She moaned softly, 'What kind of therapy needs 109 forms to fill out?'

'You counted?' Sakurano looked surprised.

'I guess. I was kinda bored,' she shrugged and yawned, remembering to cover her mouth as she did so. 'Is that all?'

'Yes, that's all for now. When the therapy is over, you may have to sign a few more documents,' he said as he tied the documents into a few stacks. He caught Yuki's twitching fists and chuckled, 'It's not that bad… it won't be as many as this time. At least… that's what I was informed of.'

'Thank you…' Yuki smiled at him and held out her hand. Sakurano took it and they shook hands. She winced and pulled away abruptly.

'Is something wrong?'

Yuki smiled apologetically. 'I'm sorry… I seem to forget that my shoulder isn't exactly ready for that kind of stuff yet.'

'I'm sorry, I should have known,' he bowed his head. 'Does it hurt?'

'It hurts like you had a drill driving full blast at it while having bags of salt being poured simultaneously on top,' Yuki shrugged, winced and grimaced. 'But I have a good tolerance for pain so it's alright… It doesn't hurt as much. I should be ready for the Alice Festival by tomorrow, so it's really nothing at all,' she laughed and got up slowly, using her good hand to support her. She limped over to the bed and sat down, massaging her stiff legs.

'I'll get the nurse to come in to check on you,' He picked up the forms and made his way to the door. He turned back just before he left the room and said, '…Get better soon.'

Yuki sighed the moment the door met the frame. She touched her eyelids, drawing a finger lightly across the skin. _'It's not that I can't see… I don't want to see. But I want to know… what exactly can you do to make me regain my sight back… and what exactly you can do to convince me that the world isn't as dirty as it seemed the last time I saw through this pair of eyes.'_

**Next day at the Special Abilities Class attraction…**

The sound of a pair of metal sticks making contact with ground was heard.

'Sorry, I'm late!' Yuki limped over in a pair of crutches to where majority of the class was sitting. She smiled a bit and asked, 'How is it going?'

Mikan sobbed and wailed, 'Yuki-chan, no one is coming to our attraction!' She plunged forward and knocked Yuki to the ground, hugging her at the waist. 'Why isn't anyone coming?'

Tsubasa gave a friendly laugh and pulled Mikan up, hugging her so that she wouldn't go attacking Yuki again. He said, 'Sorry about that. We haven't been having any customers lately, and Mikan is very upset. Are you ready for your post? It looks like you're still injured.'

Yuki patted her leg and got up with the aid of Misaki. She shrugged and said, 'I'm alright, I guess. Mikan and I have shifts, right? Is it alright if she goes for the first shift then?'

'Alright, alright,' Tsubasa produced a clipboard and did some scribbling on it. He winked at Misaki and she grinned back, a glint in her eyes.

'Yukiko-chan… let's go get you changed!' Misaki picked Yuki up and charged towards the back room where the costumes were held.

'Huh?'

**A few minutes later…**

'Ah, Yukiko-chan, I'm so amazed that my sense of style is as great as ever!' Misaki looked as if she had won the Nobel Prize for best costume design., winking ever so often.

'Praising yourself, I see,' Tsubasa sniggered from behind. Misaki rounded on his and gave him a right hook to the cheek.

Mikan, meanwhile, looked at Yuki from head to toe and her eyes popped out. She drooled and said, 'Yuki-chan… you're so pretty!'

Yuki blushed and fingered her hair. She was in a light purple costume of different shades. The top comprised of a tube top that exposed her belly button. A translucent scarf was wrapped around her, draping her body like a long blanket and its edges caressed the floor as she walked. Her pants were like Mikan's except that it had slight embroidery at the edges and it had a belt around her thin waist. Misaki had combed her hair into two high ponytails and tied them with gold hair bands. She then went one step further and tied them into loose plaits, attaching little bells at the end. Her blindfold was replaced with a violet one with gold outlines.

'Eh… dash on some make-up and this girl can become the next model…' some random guy from the class commented. 'Hey, is we sell her photos, we can get funds to renovate our classroom!'

'Yuki-chan doesn't need make up!' Mikan pouted and hugged Yuki tightly. 'And she is not a cow you can squeeze money out of!'

The guy scratched his head and sighed, 'Ok, I get it. It's not like she has anything to squeeze out anyways. Look how thin she is…'

'Yuki is fit and slender!' Mikan nearly screamed at the guy. He flinched and backed away, raising his hands to signify defeat.

'Misaki-senpai… Are you sure about letting me wear this costume?' Yuki asked softly.

Misaki laughed and gave a thumbs-up, saying, 'Why not? I took into consideration your task and your injury. This outfit is the lightest I could find so that you can move without much burden and it's so cute too. The bells, well… wasn't really in it but you looks so cute!' She gushed with tears and pride.

'I see…' Yuki sighed and pried Mikan off her. 'Shall I go fishing then?'

'Fishing?' Tsubasa and Misaki asked in union.

'For customers, of course,' Yuki gave a mischievous grin and Mikan perked up.

'With our undeniable charm…' Mikan blew a kiss and clung onto Yuki.

Yuki stood stiffly in Mikan's arms but continued, 'We'll get you all some customers to start the flow.'

'Yuki-chan! You were supposed to say: We'll sweep them off their feet and start a waterfall of customers!' Mikan pouted and smacked Yuki on the arm. She winced and grasped the spot where Mikan had hit her and massaged it.

Tsubasa laughed nervously and said to Mikan, 'Please be careful with her. I think she's still injured.'

'Ah! Sorry, sorry!' Mikan apologized to Yuki. Yuki waved a hand and shrug it off.

'Now are we going or not?'

'Yes! Yes!'

**Less than 5 minutes later…**

Mikan winked at a passing group of boys and smiled brightly. She gestured for them to come over, which they did curiously. Mikan grinned at them and said, 'How would you like a free go at the Special Abilities Class' attraction. It's completely free of charge, and I guarantee you that you will not regret it.'

One of the boys in the group hesitated and said, 'The SA Class… aren't they the usual outcasts?'

'Yeah… will they do something creepy to us?' another boy expressed his thoughts.

'Like what?' Some soft voice called out from behind them. They turned around sharply to see Yuki, dressed confidently in her costume, staring up at them with her hands behind her back. They jumped at her appearance but once the shock was over, they found themselves staring at her with eyes the size of tea plates.

'Uh…'

'You'll come, won't you?' Yuki asked sweetly, giving them one of her bright smiles. They leaned back, _trying_ not to get mesmerized. She asked again, 'You're coming to our attraction, right?'

'Uh…' one of them stuttered. 'If that's… fine with you… I guess…?'

'Great!' Mikan exclaimed and clung onto one of the boys' arm. She pulled them over to the gym they were using, saying cheerfully, 'It's right here! Don't be shy, step right up!' She turned back briefly to wink at Yuki. Yuki smiled and gave a thumb-up.

They got the river flowing… and soon the river became a waterfall.

**And then an hour later…**

'**No**! I don't wanna go with you!' Mikan yelled as she was dragged away forcefully by Natsume. Apparently… he had been forced to enter, got past all the obstacles and asked Kokoroyomi to pick out Tsubasa's lamp for him… only that Koko picked out Mikan's instead. And so, Mikan was now subject to Natsume's beck and call for the rest of the Alice Festival. Everyone in the Special Abilities Class shivered. Who will be next? They had been having good luck until Natsume came and broke past all the supposedly unbreakable obstacles and tricked Mikan to get off her platform, successfully becoming the first to make it past the game.

Yuki sighed and got up from the chair she was sitting on, pulling her hand out of the basin of water. An hour ago, she was given the task of watching the contestants should they do something undesirable, and now, before her actual shift arrived, she was already going onto the battlefield.

Tsubasa walked over and slung an arm around her shoulders, asking, 'You okay?'

'Nothing unmanageable, Tsubasa-senpai,' Yuki replied. She dusted her costume –though there wasn't much point or use for doing that –and was led into the maze by Tsubasa.

'We'll probably get someone to take over every two hours or so. We'll also try to limit the routes to that junction… though I think it wouldn't be much of a problem since you're taking the final obstacle. Well… if you're feeling unwell, just tell us and we'll take you off the shift pronto,' Tsubasa patted her on the back and smiled.

'…Thank you, senpai. You'll make a great leader in future,' Yuki said. Tsubasa blushed and looked away, embarrassed. He increased his pace and led her through the back, and into the junction where her obstacle was set up. He glanced around, checking for anything that was obviously out of place, found none, and nodded with satisfaction. Yuki stepped into her obstacle and smiled.

'Perfect. This will do just perfectly.'

'Glad to hear that. I entrust you the freedom of the SA class. The best of luck,' Tsubasa bowed, with a weak Arabic style, and set off to assume his post somewhere in the maze.

'Customer #354 entering the maze!' The announcement echoed in the gymnasium.

'Sa… who will be my first customer…?' Yuki sat down cross-legged and smiled mischievously. 'I won't let anyone pass me… not even Mikan or Hotaru.'

**How was it...? I read it through a few times until I was totally satisfied, but I'm sure a month from now I will be horrified at this chapter. It happens all the time. I'll put off rewriting until I complete the whole story, but if there's somthing really wrong, please drop me a review and I'll see if there's anything I can do.**

**THE POLE FOR YUKIXPAIRING IS OUT! PLEASE VOTE!**

**Thank you! RXR!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I still feel very guilty for not updating Winter Serenade for god-knows-how-many-months... Enjoy! Now that exams are finally over, I get more time to write! Yippie!**

**Feathers of an Angel, Chapter 6**

**With the Special Abilities Class Attraction…**

'Hey, I heard that Sakura Mikan is no longer guarding the last station.'

'Really? Man, I was kicked out… like 4 times because I met her. I was so close too! She was the last one and if only I had gotten past her!'

'Well if we got the rope then…'

'But she's quick to dodge. I got it once but she was just so quick and I spent half the time trying to figure out how to use it and by the time I managed to get a hold of it and make one puny attempt, my 30 seconds were up!'

'Hey, hey, I heard the Blind Alice is guarding Sakura's station.'

'Really? Oh boy, I bet I'll get pass this time. What can that blind thing do?'

'Haha!'

Tsubasa glared at the boys under his cap but gave no comment. He glanced at the clock and signaled to his class, 'Hey, Lunch Break is over! Let's get on with the shifts. Everyone back to your original stations, pronto!'

There was a chorus of 'Hai!' as the students rushed back to the maze. Tsubasa took one more glance at the boys in the front of the row. This time, they caught his eye. Tsubasa sent them an icy smirk and left.

**Yuki's Station…**

'La~ ' Yuki sang to herself as she dangled her feet over the pool from the barrel she was sitting on. Her station was a large baby pool that covered a part of the corridor. It was filled halfway through and reached about the knees when one was standing straight up. Yuki looked up as she heard footsteps and smiled. 'Hello!' She jumped down from one of the barrels lined up at the side and stepped into the pool.

'You're… the last one, right?'

'Yes, Kokoroyome-kun!' Yuki said. 'Well, I'll explain the rules now. If you can touch any part of me in 30 seconds, you pass! And by any part, I mean any part; though try to stay within the decent area.'

'Just touch you…' Koko looked apprehensive. He stepped cautiously into the pool.

'No time to ponder! Your time is ticking,' Yuki pointed to the large clock that Koko suddenly noticed was behind him. The hands were moving swiftly.

With a lunge, Koko stepped into the pool and made a grab for her. Yuki quickly dodged and ran to the other end.

'You can't catch me!' Yuki sang as she danced around Koko's attempts to catch her.

'_I can't get her at all! And this water is making my movements sluggish. What's more… she knows where I'm going to lunge for. How can it be… unless…' _Koko eyed the water and his eyes widened. 'You're using your Alice?'

'Yup!' Yuki giggled. 'Wasn't that obvious? It is the Alice Festival, after all! Isn't the purpose to use your Alice?' The clock rang and the 30 seconds was up.

'Ah…'

'You're time's up. Sorry, but try again another time,' Yuki stretched out a hand to him. Koko shook hands with her and jumped out of the pool with wet pants.

'Oh darn, I'm all wet…' Koko grumbled.

'There're towels outside. Help yourself to them,' Yuki bowed as Koko left the maze, accompanied by someone else from the class.

And she sneaked the hand that shook Koko's into her hair quickly, and removed it a second later.

**Outside the attraction…**

'Hey Sakurano, it looks like the SA class finally came up with something substantial,' Yamanouchi Shizune commented as they passed the gym.

Sakurano looked at the long queue and nodded. 'Well, it seems like someone finally came up with a proper attraction this Festival. I suppose we could nominate them for something, don't you think?'

The Student Council behind them murmured but didn't say much. Imai coughed and said, 'Shuichi, you do realize that we have to try out their attraction before we can make any nominations, don't you?'

Sakurano smiled, 'Why, Subaru, I'm shocked. Weren't you aware that I was the one who wrote the criteria and rubrics for the awards? And you're my closest companion too…' He laughed at Imai's glare and said, 'I'll go, if you all are so hesitant.'

'Good luck then,' Imai pushed up his glasses. 'With luck you'll come up in one piece.'

'What concern,' Sakurano said almost sarcastically, shrugged and set off alone to the attraction.

**With the SA Class…**

Tsubasa yawned as he took a chug of water. They were currently having a 15-minute break after working non-stop for 3 hours. Yuki was sitting at the table, face pressed against the wooden surface and apparently exhausted.

'Hey… is that who I think it is?'

'You're right… Oh my… Tsubasa!!' Misaki yelled for the black-haired teen.

'What is it?' Tsubasa responded lazily.

'It's Sakurano!'

'…WHAT?' He rushed to where the customers were lining up and saw the Student Council President standing there. All the students were giving him a wide breath and were looking at him with either admiration or fear. Tsubasa coughed and tidied his appearance a bit before stepping out and making his way over to the senior.

'Ah… Tsubasa-kouhai, isn't it?' Sakurano nodded his head.

Tsubasa bowed slightly and grinned, 'What can I do for you today, senpai? Are you here to play? If that's so, then I'm afraid that you'll have to go to the back of the line.'

'Ah, no, I'm not here to play. Actually, I'm here to consider nominating your attraction for one of the awards. If possible, could you let me have a chance at this… game of yours,' Sakurano inclined his head and looked at the banner. 'RPG… is it?'

'Oh, yes, it is. Um… I'll explain the rules to you then. The point of this game is to get past the maze and the obstacles, which are manned by your SA Class "genies". In doing so, you will have a choice at the magical lamps at end of the race. In the lamps are the names of our SA Class students and by choosing their lamps… they're instantly yours until the end of the Alice Festival…' Tsubasa gulped slightly as he explained the rules. 'Uh… under no circumstances are you to inflict any harm to the "genies" at their stations… physically, that is. Doing so will result in immediate disqualification.'

'I see,' he nodded. 'Is there anything else?'

'You have an item given to you at the start of the race. It may be of assistance or a burden, but you are to hold onto it until you come out of the maze. If you lose it or fail to return it, you will have to foor the cost of the item as well as a 30 rabbit fine…'

'Reasonable.'

Tsubasa led him to the entrance. He turned to the resting room where Yuki was resting and called, 'Oi, Yuki! We need you in!'

'Hai…'

Turning back, he showed Sakurano the box of items. Sakurano reached in and produced… a necklace. It had an orange stone dangling from it.

'Uh…' Tsubasa eyed the necklace warily. 'Are you ready?'

'Yes, I am,' He smiled.

'Then… please go,' He pushed the curtains blocking the entrance away.

'Thank you.' Sakurano walked in and began the "adventure".

**With Yuki…**

'Ai… why do I have to do this?' Yuki complained to herself as she sat in the pool with a walkie-talkie. She frowned and said into the walkie-talkie, 'Corridor 67, close up. He's coming your way.'

'**Got it!'**

'Hey, Corridor 52, you up for Sakurano?'

'**S-sakurano? No way!'**

'Corridor 78, you?'

'**Uh… he is the Student Council President, you know.'**

'Tsubasa –senpai.'

'**Ok, ok, I got it.'**

'Thank you. Everyone, cooperate and lead him to Tsubasa. No, 32, you're leading his the wrong way. Dead end, please. Yes, ok.' Yuki sighed and rested against the edge of the pool. _'Really, why do I have to do this?'_

'**Uh… Shirogane, he got pass…'**

'Really? …What item did he get?'

'…'

'…Is it Mikan's Alice stone?'

'…**Yes.'**

Yuki gritted her teeth. 'He'll make his way here. Forget about manipulating the corridors already. Lead him here.'

'**Oi, Yukiko!'**

'Yes?'

'**You are one brave one, you know that? We'll prepare your funeral for you, ok?'**

Yuki tossed aside the walkie-talkie and stood up. 'Really… cursing me like that. It's not like I'm going to lose, right?' She fingered her thigh and grimaced. 'I'll have to be careful… That man is…'

**A few minutes later…**

'This thing is good,' Sakurano murmured to himself as he walked to the last corridor. This orange stone had turned a very pale orange and looked as if it was about to drain out very soon. He sighed and turned it over in his hands. 'Nullification, huh. So sensei's daughter was this proficient in her Alice already? Pity it's still weak.'

'So… you used it up already?'

'Yes, it would seem so,' Sakurano smiled slightly at the dark-haired girl. Yuki grinned and jumped down from the barrels.

'So… the last station. You have 30 seconds to touch me physically in this pool. No violence please, and please keep to the decent area,' Yuki said.

'Just… touch you?' Sakurano didn't step into the pool yet.

'Yes. You may use whatever you have at your disposal.'

'I see,' Sakurano stepped in and the clock started ticking. He teleported to her and stretched out a hand to grab her shoulder but she had already ducked under and slid out from under him in the water.

'Yesh! What a surprise attack!' Yuki shuddered and shook water out of her eyes.

'_She's fast to react. I see… the water… In that case, she can see what I'm doing… and if my guess on her powers are correct, she can even see the future,' _Sakurano thought to himself. _'I have to catch her off guard. The Alice stone…'_

The orange stone glowed and robbed Yuki of her Alice temporarily. Yuki smiled to herself. Teleporting again, Sakurano made to grab her but missed by the just a bit. Yuki had rolled to the side quickly.

'_It didn't work? No… she heard me…' _he frowned at the sloshing of water under his feet, _'Impressive senses. Then… I'll just have to make you senseless then!'_

'What…?' Yuki froze on the spot. _'I can't see… or hear. The water's gone. He… he… robbed me of my senses… No… It's…'_

Tap. Sakurano's hand made contact with her shoulder as the clock went off. The next instant, Yuki could hear the ring of the clock. Her hands still trembled.

'Ahaha… you got through…' Yuki laughed and stepped out of the pool. She raised a hand to the senior and beckoned him to follow her.

'Shirogane-chan…?' Sakurano tilted his head to the side.

'Hai…?' She paused slightly.

'Are you alright? You're shaking,' Sakurano pointed out gently. Yuki grabbed her trembling arms and smiled at him over her shoulder.

'It's nothing. I'm just cold!'

**Outside the maze…**

'As expected…' Tsubasa said dejectedly as the two walked out of the maze.

'He IS the Student Council President, after all…' Misaki reasoned.

'And he DID have Mikan's Alice stone… though it appears that he has used it up…' Tsubasa sighed. He turned to Misaki. 'You know what to do. Bring out the table.'

'I got it, I got it,' Misaki went to the back room to retrieve the table that had the lamps.

'As for me…' Tsubasa grabbed a few towels and went over to the drenched girl. He wrapped one over her body and used another to dry her hair. He tossed another to Sakurano, nodding towards his shoes and pants.

'Thank you,' Sakurano nodded.

'Thank you, senpai,' Yuki said from under the towel. She rubbed her hands together. 'Was it always so cold out here?'

'No… You're just imagining things. Go and warm up in the other room,' Tsubasa patted her shoulder. Yuki was more than happy to oblige and escaped into the resting room.

'Your game was very intriguing. I think it stands a good chance at winning at least one award,' Sakurano smiled.

Tsubasa chuckled. He yelled over his shoulder, 'Oi, Misaki! What's taking you so long?'

'Damn you, Tsubasa! You should be damn glad that I have a useful Alice or you're so dead for making me carry this all on my own!' Misaki yelled angrily as she and her doppelgangers carried the table into the open. She let it drop to the floor heavily and said, 'Here!'

'…?'

'Sakurano-senpai, you have to choose a lamp.'

'Ah… I'm sorry; I was just here to try out the game…'

'That's the conditions of the game!'

'But I have no intention of…'

'Senpai, please keep to the conditions of the game,' Tsubasa said. 'It clearly states that if you win the game, you have to keep the person whom you chose for the rest of the Alice Festival.' He shot the senior a look.

'Well then…' Sakurano picked up the lamp closest to him. It revealed to be…

**3 Shirogane Yukiko 3**

'…'

'Hey, looks like the one guarding the last station got chosen again.'

'No! I'm so not manning that station. It's cursed! I'll be the next to go!'

Tsubasa clapped the senpai's shoulder. 'Ah, you've got good luck. Yukiko-chan can make really good tea. Oi, Yuki! Change out!'

'…He chose me…?'

'Yup! Get ready in 5 minutes, ok?'

'… I got it, Tsubasa-senpai.'

'Good!'

**(A short intervention…)**

**Exactly 5 minutes later…**

'And how did it come to this?'

'But, it's protocol!'

'A leash, Tsubasa-senpai?'

'It is not…'

'Then what IS a collar attached to a leather string with a loop?'

'Tsubasa-kouhai, I'm afraid neither Shirogane-chan nor I would appreciate having a leash.'

'Oh darn…'

'Mikan-chan was hardly wearing a leash when she left…'

'Ok, ok. You're free to go. Don't you dare leave his side until 7pm sharp, ok?'

'… The toilet?'

'…'

'…You can go if necessary.'

'…Thank you.'

**(End)**

Sakurano stepped out exactly half an hour since he had stepped in with Yuki a few steps behind him. He looked around for his companions, who had mysteriously vanished.

'Hn…' Sakurano walked over to a tree and tore out the note that was pinned onto the trunk. He read the note swiftly.

_**Sakurano:**_

_**We're leaving to search for more nominees. Please head back to the meeting room at 4pm to discuss the nominees.**_

_**Imai Subaru, Vice president of Student Council**_

_**P.S. It seems like you're having some fun. Send my good luck to the one that was unfortunately chosen. It seems like that person will have to be kept by your side for the rest of the Festival, from what I've heard.**_

Sakurano glanced at his watch. It was only 2.30pm.

'Senpai?' Yuki tugged gently at his blazer.

'Shirogane-chan, we're going to the hospital. Do you mind?' Sakurano asked.

'To be honest, I'm sick of the smell. But if that's what you wish for, then that's fine by me,' Yuki grimaced at the mention of the disinfectant smell that haunted the hospital.

'Sorry, but I think your leg needs to be seen to,' he pointed to her leg. She fingered the new bandages that covered her thigh. 'What did you do to it?'

'I… think I kind of ripped the stitches when I was ducking your… approaches…'

'That must have hurt,' He commented.

'Oh, it's nothing. It just feels like someone ripped apart your muscles with his teeth,' Yuki replied nonchalantly. The senior blinked.

'Masochist. That just confirmed it,' he stated and tapped her shoulder. The next moment, they had teleported to the hospital.

**4pm, Student Council Meeting Room…**

KNOCK. Sakurano knocked on the door briefly before opening it and gently leading Yuki into the room with him. The occupants in the room looked up and nodded at the pair.

'Thank you for waiting,' he bowed.

Yuki bowed as well. 'Thank you for having me here. I'm sorry for any inconveniences that may have been caused by my presence.'

'It's alright. I heard you're good at preparing tea?' Imai Subaru shuffled the papers on the desk. He watched her nod once and nodded with satisfaction. 'If you'd please, busy yourself with preparing some tea for us while we discuss matters.'

Sakurano frowned slightly but didn't say a thing. Yuki bowed again and put on her necklace before leaving to the pantry in the adjacent room.

Sakurano sat down at the head of the table and waited until the door could be heard clicking shut before beginning. He cleared his throat and said, 'I'm sure you all are aware by now how Shirogane Yukiko's presence in this room came to be. Recently, the principals and higher-ups have been getting impatient in finding out who is the spy in the Academy and have thus decided to track some students' movements until they can be confirmed to be of no threat. Of all the students singled out, Shirogane Yukiko was one of them. When I approached the Special Abilities Class attraction this afternoon, Tsubasa Andou informed me of the impromptu plan to have Shirogane Yukiko followed.'

'He had her chained to you,' Shizune said. Sakurano nodded.

'I must say… Even though the Special Squad was arranged in under 20 hours, the members chosen are really impressive. For someone like Tsubasa Andou to come up with such a plan in a matter of seconds… not only is his Alice effective, he also has a good brain. There's a high chance that he'll be transferred to the DA Class,' Imai commented. There was some clenching of jaws but no one objected. They all knew very well that that was the truth.

'Excuse me…' There was a knock on the door and Yuki peeped in. 'May I come in?'

'Sure,' Sakurano smiled. Yuki smiled in return, the blue stone glittering in the soft light, and walked in with the tray. She set it down on the table and began pouring tea for everyone.

'It smells nice,' Shizune said, taking a sniff from the tea cup.

'Um… I'm only accustomed to preparing English Tea so… I hope it is to your liking,' Yuki bowed.

'It's great,' Sakurano complimented. Yuki bowed her head.

'Do you need me to do anything else? I can always wait in the pantry while you discuss matters,' She said.

Imai pushed up his glasses. 'I think that would be best. If you don't mind…'

'I understand,' she bowed again, turning to leave the room.

'Shirogane-chan!'

Yuki turned. 'Yes, Sakurano-senpai?'

'What do you… think of the Black Halloween's actions?' Sakurano asked, resulting in many glares and looks of confusion from the Student Council members.

'Hm…' She looked thoughtful. 'I don't really understand why they want to do such things… I'm not even sure if the rumors I've heard are true… that people have died… but I think, no matter what, they should not involve the children… because… no one deserves to have their childhood…'

'Stained by the ugly events of the past,' Imai supplied.

'Y…yes,' She said.

'I see…' Sakurano nodded and rested his head on his hands. 'You may go, Shirogane-chan.' Yuki bowed and left the room.

'Sakurano? What was the meaning of that?' Shizune demanded.

'To help make a decision, seeing as she is a student of the Academy,' Sakurano answered. 'Let's accept that meeting then. The meeting with the official from the Black Halloween.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes. If we meet up, then we'll be able to find out more about their objectives. It'll be beneficial to us,' Sakurano said seriously. 'Any who oppose? Good, I shall report this decision to the High School Principal.'

**That night, in Mikan's and Yuki's shared 1-star bedroom…**

'Uwaaaah!' Mikan let out a long shout as she collapsed onto the bed. 'That darn Natsume, I'll kill him if he orders me around like a dog again!'

'Don't say things like killing so easily,' Yuki chided.

'Why? We use that term often, don't we?' Mikan said, curling into a ball.

Yuki waited until she untied her hair and removed the objects she had concealed in them before answering. 'We're being watched. By students, especially.'

'Watched?' Mikan's eyes narrowed. 'We're suspected?'

'More than just suspected. We're prime suspects. There is a special committee formed just to track the movements of suspects. Today, at the attraction, getting you and me with Hyuuga-kun and Sakurano-senpai was all part of the plan. They didn't have much of a choice, and neither did we, as all the lamps were filled with yours and my names.'

'They were?' Mikan's eyes widened. 'Then… what are you going to do? You have a plan to prevent us from being suspected? It could put a big stop to all arrangements if we get caught.'

'Yes. I have a plan to get them off my back but I'm not sure about yours,' Yuki fingered the three objects she had taken out of her hair. All were sleek black rectangular objects with a logo carved onto the lower part of the back side. The logo was a pair of black wings in the middle of a bright orange carved pumpkin. On the front side, a number pad and screen laid in sight. Mikan looked at them interestedly.

'Who gave you those?'

'Fellow agents in the Academy. Their identities may surprise you, so I shall refrain from telling you at the moment.'

'Eh, really?' Mikan said with an expression of disbelief.

Yuki smirked. 'Yes, really. There are some that I doubt you would even dream of becoming a secret agent for us. There are a few more in the Academy, I'm sure, but I have yet to receive their confirmation. These three are ones who approached me today in the attraction.'

Mikan looked thoughtful. 'Speaking of which… what of the next target?'

'Ah, that…' Yuki nodded. 'I received word today that someone is coming to the Academy for some meeting. So, to maintain the little peace we have, all missions have been cancelled for now. You're, literally, free to do whatever you please in this period. However, I would suggest that you use it to get the Academy off your back.'

'What are you going to do?'

'Mikan, we are very protective of our own, right?'

'Yes. With only the exception of traitors, we will do anything for the welfare of our own,' Mikan agreed with a smile. 'That's the only rule I like.'

Yuki smiled –a very sinister one that looked wrong on her. 'Then you wouldn't like the rule after I'm done exploiting its loophole.'

'What are you doing to do?'

'If protecting the welfare of the members means stabbing them fatally, would you do it?' Yuki asked.

'…What…?'

'It's simple. In the meeting set up by the higher-ups, they will explain our ideals and practices. Our little rule will be told to the Academy as well. So, if I was attacked by a member of the Black Halloween, then wouldn't they be convinced that I am NOT a member of them?' Yuki tapped her head. 'No, right? After all, we are protective of our own. We wouldn't do anything to outright harm our own. So I'll make use of this rule to get them off my back.'

'That's ingenious…' Mikan murmured. 'But who's going to do it?'

Yuki lifted one of the black rectangles. 'This one right here.'

**Phew! I'm focusing more on Feathers of an Angel lately because I'm currently facing a MAJOR writer's block on Winter Serenade. I don't know why but when I'm facing the chapter I'm working on right now, I just draw a blank mind and I'll end up staring at it until I open this chapter and start typing away. So sorry to those who were waiting for an update on that end! I just find it incredibly easier to work on this fanfic at the moment.**

**Physics is KILLER. I know, and I embrace the fact that I'm using time meant for studying physics to do this chapter.**

**Special ONMAKE! Whoops!**

**After the meeting…**

'Shirogane…?' Sakurano walked into the pantry and looked around for the girl. He spotted her sitting at a corner, facing the window. He walked up to her and looked outside to see the Academy students milling around and having fun at the Festival. He realized with a pang of guilt that the little girl in front of him had been deprived of enjoying the Festival which her peers were currently at.

'Senpai?'

'I'm sorry, Shirogane-chan, because of me, you are not able to enjoy the festival,' Sakurano said, a tinge of bitterness hanging at his words.

'No… I'm not that fond of Festivals. Even when Mikan-chan asked me to accompany her to the temple festivals, I never really enjoyed them much. I don't see what the big deal about festivals is…' Yuki said.

Sakurano dragged a chair up and sat with her at the window. 'Why?'

'Why?'

'Why don't you like festivals?'

'Why… huh?' Yuki fingered her hair. 'Maybe it's because… I understand that I can never see those pretty lights, the people celebrating so happily… The desire to know and see has turned into an emotion of hate and disgust.'

'I see…' He leaned back and glanced around. That's when he noticed that the pantry shelves were awfully high. He frowned and asked, 'By any chance, Shirogane-chan, how did you get the tea cups?'

'I jumped. Don't worry, nothing was damaged.'

'…What…?'

Yuki sniggered. 'Just joking. Did you think that I could jump and reach for a delicate set of tea cups that were positioned in a shelf more that was twice my height tall? I climbed onto the counter.'

'Oh.'

'I hate being short.'

'Most people do.'

'I don't really like people who are towering over me either.'

'That makes everyone then. Not everyone is a dwarf like you.'

'…That was insulting.'

'Was it? I beg your pardon.'

'Really… Who's the one who's going to graduate in a year or so?'

'…Who?'

'… … …'

'… … …'

'… … …'

'I'll bring you to the festival tomorrow. I've got inspection shift with Subaru.'

'Alright. Have a pleasant evening, Sakurano-senpai.'

'You too, Shirogane-chan.'

'Hey… Sakurano-senpai, why do you call me –chan instead of –kouhai?'

'Why indeed.'

'… … …'

'… … …'

'See you tomorrow, senpai.'

CLICK. The door closed.

**End of Onmake…**

**A really pathetic attempt, in my opinion. I tried to bring back the humor in Yuki's height. It seems like it didn't go that well. Ah… never mind.**


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been really long since I last updated… yeah… I'm having many crushes on male anime characters lately so it's kinda hard to concentrate on my work… (*mumbles something about Uchiha Itachi) Ok, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Feathers of an Angel**

**Chapter 7**

**Day 2 of Alice Festival…**

The attractions were still going on strong, and on the second day, three students stepped out of the Student Council meeting room to start their patrol. Yuki gritted her teeth slightly and jogged to keep up with the long strides of her two seniors. It seems like the first destination of the day was to be…

Technical Abilities Class…

Ah…

Of course, the technical class cannot be completed without accidents.

So…

CRASH! (Sound of falling objects) 'Kyaaa!'

'Not again…' the vice-president of the Student Council groaned into his hand. 'This makes it the 5th consecutive year that the Technical Class has experienced… accidents.'

Sakurano chuckled and shook his head. 'Why don't you go and resolve things on that end first? We'll meet you up in a few.'

'I got it,' Imai nodded and departed for the scene of the accident.

'Why?' Yuki asked.

'Why what?'

'Why did you let him leave on his own? Aren't you two supposed to do the inspection together?' _Not to mention you're chancing an opportunity for me to be alone with you._

'I've got this intuition,' Sakurano replied, winking. 'Subaru needs some of his "own time" as well.'

'I see… Shall we go then?'

Sakurano took her hand and led her to the other attractions.

_**Flashback…**_

'_Yuki-chan! We've got to go!' Mikan cried out frantically as she rushed to tie up her ponytails. Yuki sighed and brushed her long hair patiently on the bed, her pace not quickening one bit. Mikan said, 'Yuki-chan, if we don't hurry, we will be late!'_

'_You will be late if you don't hurry, Mikan-chan,' Yuki sighed._

'_Eh…?' Mikan paused in her frantic preparations and looked at her friend. 'Why?'_

'_I can teleport to the venue, unlike you, who has to run to wherever Hyuuga-san is,' Yuki rolled her eyes behind the blindfold._

'_Yuki-chan can teleport?'_

'_No, I was given an instant teleportation alice stone so that I can travel around easily. The hospital doesn't want me to visit them again… for the same reason,' She chuckled slightly while rubbing her leg where a fresh bandage was wrapped._

'_Yuki-chan was injured again?' Mikan walked over and rubbed the patch._

'_It's alright… And stop beginning your sentences with my name. Say… shouldn't you be going by now?' Yuki pointed to the direction of the clock. Mikan followed the finger and looked at the time on the clock. _

'_Oh no! I'm late~!!!' Mikan cried as she rushed to finish getting ready. In record speed, she pulled on her socks and boots and dashed off to wherever Natsume had arranged to meet._

'_Really… She needs to be more responsible…' Yuki sighed. 'Turning to more serious business… Now that that girl is gone, you two can come in, you know.'_

_The door opened at the same time the window did, and a girl and a boy clad in Elementary division uniform slid in respectively. Yuki smiled and stood up, beckoning for them to come over. The two students came over nervously, taking in each other's appearance with slightly shocked looks._

'_Honestly, I'm surprised. I'd never have suspected you two to be our agents… Is it from your parents?' Yuki took out the long black rectangles from her pocket. Both of them nodded. Yuki's expression remained stoic. 'You know why you're here. I have a mission for you two. They're different, but it's all for the same objective.'_

'_A mission… so soon…' the girl gripped her sleeves._

'_That is to be expected… I suppose. I received word from our superior that… a higher-up will be coming?' the boy said. _

'_Your superior is well-informed. Who is he?' Yuki spun one of the sleek rectangles on her hand. 'Is it… Zero?'_

'_We don't know him by that name but yes, it is who you think it is.'_

'_I see. You two know why you're here. I've recorded your mission onto this. Take it back,' she threw it to them and both caught it expertly with ease. 'From now on, we will communicate using these. Other than that, we will treat each other like classmates. Is that clear?'_

'_Yes.' They answered in unison._

_Yuki smiled, 'Good boy and girl. Oh, and if you see the other one-you know who-, please tell him to meet me tonight. I have something I want to talk to him about.'_

'_Sure. I'll find him. He will be going to the Somatic Class play. He told me that yesterday,' the boy said._

'_Great. Well then, I must be going,' Yuki grabbed her necklace on the table and teleported away._

_**End of Flashback…**_

'Senpai…?'

'Yes?'

'Are you using your alice?'

'Ah… you noticed?'

'Yes, not only on you, but me as well,' Yuki rubbed her face. 'A… glamour alice?'

Sakurano chuckled, 'Well, if I go around with my original appearance, we'll hardly be able to enjoy the attractions. I'll remove the alice when we're done, so don't worry.'

'Is it really necessary?' She frowned, taking out her necklace and wrapping it around her palm.

'Yes, if I want to escape crazy fan girls.'

'Ok.'

'…Is there a problem?'

Yuki shook her head and said, 'No… it's just that…'

Sakurano glanced at her once and took her hands, leading her to a bench in a secluded area. He sat her down and took a place beside her.

'Senpai?'

'May I ask you something?'

'Senpai…?'

'Do you hate your own alice?'

Yuki froze and gripped her skirt. She turned away and dipped her head to her chest.

'Shirogane-chan…'

'I… it's not that I hate Alice. I hate seeing. Seeing is, to me, a terrible thing. All the ugliness of people and the world… if we did not see it, then perhaps the world wouldn't be such a terrible place. My alice lets me see. I can see everything, anything through this alice. But, the truth is, the thing I hate most is to see…' Yuki explained in a forlorn voice. She fingered the blue alice stone in her hand. 'But this alice is part of me, and it defines me. It can't be denied that the one who needs this alice the most is the one who can't see. Even so, the alice is my most needed, yet most hated. I don't hate alice, but I hate what it can do.'

Sakurano continued, 'Because if you hate alice, it would mean hating your own existence?'

For a moment, a look of agreement was reflected on her face. But that look was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Yuki smiled, 'Yes, and it would mean denying the existence of me, Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan, and you, senpai.'

'Denying our existence, huh?' Sakurano laughed softly. He glanced at the very still girl. 'You know, I had a senpai who was very dear to me. She hated her own alice very much.'

'Sakurano-senpai's senpai?' Yuki expressed interest.

'Yes… She was very lively; it was as if she was a sun. But she hated her alice. It was a rare but dangerous alice and many people hated her for that. But then, our sensei said that an alice is determined by how the user uses the alice. If you use it for good things, then the alice can be seen as good, and vice versa. He was a really nice sensei…'

'Your sensei was very wise… I take it he's not here anymore?' Yuki asked.

Sakurano's expression tightened. 'No, he's not.'

'A pity… I would really like the chance to meet him. It seems to me that both your senpai and sensei were very lively people. They're like the sun, illuminating the days for us in the academy, much like what Mikan-chan does.'

'They were…' He patted her head. 'Do you still hate your alice?'

'I… don't know. But I think that I like my alice a bit more now, though,' Yuki smiled up at him. 'Thank you, senpai.'

'You're welcome, Shirogane-chan.'

**With Mikan…**

Mikan pouted as she followed Natsume through the haunted house. She whined, 'Natsume…. Can we go now? This isn't funny…'

'Of course not. It's a haunted house,' he scoffed. 'Are you scared?'

'Of course not!' Mikan said huffily, mimicking the way he said the three words just now.

'Where's Ruka, by the way?' He glanced around. 'Hm… did he get separated?'

'Eh? Ruka-pyon is alone?' Mikan looked around in concern. Natsume's eyes darkened a fraction but he just scoffed.

'Ruka will be alright on his own. Let's get this thing over and done with,' Natsume grabbed her wrist and dragged her past the dark corridors.

'Oi! Natsume, stop! It hurts!' Mikan winced as she was yanked forcefully away. There was a slight rumble in the building that only the two of them could catch, and before they knew it, the eerie lightings had gone out and it was replaced by total silent darkness. A slight creak was followed by the thunder of walls falling and dust clouded the area.

A fire blazed on Natsume's palm. Mikan looked around fearfully as she saw that the walls had closed in on them, and they were trapped in the darkness.

'Natsume… What are we going to do?'

'_She didn't ask what happened, but what was the next course of action? That's strange…' _Natsume sniffed and aimed his palm at the wall. 'Why not I blow it down?'

'No!' Mikan grabbed his arm and pulled it down. 'That's the hard work the Latent Ability Class did! You can't blow it down! And… and… Natsume, your fire alice is the fourth shape, right?' Seeing the stunned look was enough to confirm her thoughts. 'I don't want Natsume to reduce his life span like this… You can't!'

Natsume regarded her silently. He said, after a moment, 'Very well.' The fire disappeared. He sat down heavily against the wall and didn't say anything else.

Mikan's lips trembled slightly in the darkness, but she sat down beside him.

Silence reigned.

And it continued to.

His eyes twitching, Natsume decided to break the ice, 'Oi, polka dots!'

'P-polka dots?' Mikan spluttered. 'You pervert Natsume! How did you-'

Natsume ignored Mikan's blabbing and proceeded to ask, 'Oi, Is the Shirogane girl really your friend?'

The question struck a nerve. 'What do you mean?'

'Are you, Imai and Shirogane really the best of friends like what you claim to be?'

Mikan huffed indignantly, 'Of course! We've been together for the past few years! We participated in concerts together, practiced our songs together and Hotaru-chan helped raise money for our personal instruments, though that all has been left at home! We were very close, you know!'

'Then why does Imai treat you on a whole different level?'

'Huh?' The confused, stumped look on Mikan's face was genuine.

'You remember Imai's lab, right? Why was she only building a robot of you, and not Shirogane?'

'That…' Mikan looked down. 'That…'

'Could it be… that she treats you as an important friend, but not her?'

'No… that's…'

'Perhaps she doesn't like her as much. After all, you are much closer to Shirogane, sharing rooms and all. You actually participated as her accompaniment in that competition thing, and you've been friends longer too.'

'Natsume, stop!'

'Is Imai jealous?'

SLAP! SLAP! Mikan slapped him on one cheek and backhanded him on the other. Even in the darkness, it was surprisingly accurate and it hit him straight in the center. Natsume felt the area where she had slapped him, shocked.

'Don't… don't ever say such things about my friends!' She cried out angrily.

Hot, furious tears escaped her eyes. 'You have no right to say that! We three are… we are what you and Ruka are to each other! Do you even know how devastated we were when Hotaru had to leave for the Academy while leaving us two behind? Do you know how hard it was for us to win that competition, just so that we could be on the newspaper? We risked everything- everything we had- just to get that front page article, just to get us noticed by the Academy! We-'

'Get noticed by the Academy?' Natsume's tone was sharp.

Mikan gave a sharp intake of breathe. _'Shit. I let out more than I know. How… how… Think, Mikan! Use Yuki-chan's brains, whatever you've learnt! What is the Academy to the outside world?'_

'Oi, Polka Dots!'

'Don't call me that! We… at that time, we only knew that Hotaru-chan was in an Academy for gifted people. We thought that… if at we least exhibit the kind of talent that could gain the front page, then the Academy would consider taking us in. It was only later that we knew we were Alices, and what this Academy was for. But… the fact is that we have an unbreakable bond, just like Natsume and Ruka-pyon has!' Mikan grabbed his sleeve. Her heart was thumping heavily in her chest.

'Then how is it that you can control your Alice so well?' He yanked her fingers off his sleeve. 'Even I have trouble with it at first!'

'That… That was…'

'And Imai's robot?'

Mikan's eyes perked up. She smirked internally and said, 'You know, if it's one thing one can never imitate, it's the ability to play music the way the original can. My playing is average, plainly so, and only by pairing up with Yuki-chan can I produce a satisfactory sound. But Yuki-chan is special. She is gifted. Even though she can't see… she still plays better than I ever will, no matter how hard I try. Musical talent isn't something that can be duplicated easily. That's why… even though Hotaru-chan can make a robot of me, she can't do the same with Yuki-chan, because she will never be able to create a robot with skill equivalent to Yuki-chan. She knows that!'

'That still doesn't explain your alice, polka dots,' Natsume rolled his eyes.

'_If I can't get away, then…' _

'STOP CALLING ME POLKA DOTS!' Mikan pushed him to the floor angrily. 'I can't stand a pervert like you! If you look up my skirt again, I swear I'll never forgive you!'

'Tch, what an annoying flat-chest brat.'

'SAY WHAT? NATUMSE YOU PERVERT!'

'Shut up, polka dots.'

'NATSUME!' She grappled him and shook him violently.

CRASH! The wall holding them in fell and light shone on them. There were several gasps. Both of them looked up and saw Ruka, Hotaru, Iinchou, as well as a few other students standing there, forming the search team that were looking for them. And they apparently succeeded… except that it could have been more welcomed at a later time.

'Tch. Get off me, you female leech.'

'NATSUME!!!!!'

**Third Day of Alice Festival…**

'_One more day… one more day to the end of this madness…'_

'… Shirogane-chan…'

'Ek!' Yuki turned around swiftly.

Sakurano chuckled softly and patted her head. 'I have to go now. It's the last day and we have the prize presentation to prepare for. Is it alright if you go onto the meeting venue by yourself?'

'Ah… that's fine. I'll make my way there right now,' she bowed and took her leave from the student council meeting room.

'So… no weird actions as of late?' Subaru commented, not looking up from the paperwork that was piled sky high on his table. Sakurano glanced at his own, and found his, unfortunately, plagued with the same situation.

'No, I'm starting to think that she really shouldn't be on the list at all. After all, she seems to hate her own alice. Why would she be the one behind all those…? No, I don't even think she has the ability to do that kind of stuff anymore,' He shook his head. Sitting down on an armchair close to Subaru, he continued, 'After spending the past 2 days with her at my side, it seems more to me that she's more of a strangely matured girl than the murderer most people tend to believe she is.'

'Don't let your guard down. There's still the last two days,' Subaru informed him, but didn't say anything else that opposed his statement.

Silence enveloped them for a moment.

'But its true… how could someone like her be a killer like Natsume?'

**Last Day of Alice Festival… Evening, at the venue of the Last Dance.**

'And Imai Hotaru-san has chosen… Sakura Mikan as her Last Dance!' the announcer announced in a slightly shocked tone. 'Oh my, they're both girls!'

Down with the audience, Mikan gasped in shock. Hotaru made her way down to the two girls standing side by side and smiled softly. Mikan stuttered, 'But… isn't the Last Dance reserved for lovers?'

'…That sounds wrong…' Yuki murmured. Mikan blushed a furious shade of crimson.

'It does,' Hotaru agreed. 'But the Last Dance is supposed to mean: Together Forever. So, I suppose it's alright if I dance with a girl. Ne, Yuki?'

'Mm…'

'Then… Yuki-chan?'

'Hm?'

'You… aren't you going to dance as well?'

'Yadda, I told you before, I hate any form of celebration, dancing included,' Yuki tapped her foot to emphasis her point. 'By the way, I don't think my leg is that ready…'

'Ah, the dance is starting!' Hotaru noticed as the music started. She grabbed Mikan's hand and led her to the dance floor. Yuki waved at the leaving pair, smiling.

'Saa… where are you, Kisaragi?'

'Right here.' A teen passed by her from behind. 'I'll meet with you in your room tonight, Angel-chibi.'

'Hmph, using funny names again, huh?'

**On the Dance Floor, where Mikan and Hotaru were dancing…**

Mikan twirled around, her ponytails whirling about dangerously. Hotaru ducked to avoid the incoming lock of hair and stopped Mikan from spinning around dangerously like a typhoon. Deciding not to waste her Baka cannon on that day, Hotaru flicked a finger towards Mikan's forehead and left a very pink and obvious mark there.

'Itai! Hotaru-chan!!!' Mikan whined, pouting and gazing at Hotaru with puppy-dog eyes.

'Dance, you baka,' Hotaru took Mikan's hands and began dancing. Mikan continued pouting but followed Hotaru gracefully.

'So…'

'What is it, Hotaru-chan?'

'How was the Alice Festival?' Hotaru smiled.

'Great! I had a lot of fun!' Mikan replied cheerfully. 'What about you, Hotaru-chan?'

'It was good investment. I have quite a lot of new sponsors now, so I think my research and inventions will have better quality, which in turn, of course, leads to more money,' Hotaru said, the money signs flashing in her eyes and the sound of a cash register ringing away noisily in her head.

'Aha… ha…' Mikan laughed nervously. They danced some more. Mikan then asked, 'Ne, why did you not choose Yuki-chan?'

'She's injured.'

'But she could always have done a threesome with us. Yuki's leg is almost healed,' Mikan said in a whiney yet firm tone. 'You didn't even offer.'

'Let's not discuss such things and enjoy the last dance, Mikan,' Hotaru gripped Mikan's hands tightly and steered her deeper into the crowd of dancers so that they couldn't leave the dance floor until the crowd dispersed a little.

'No, let's discuss it now; Hotaru-chan. Yuki-chan is our friend, right, Hotaru-chan?' Mikan insisted. 'We're the best of friends, right, Hotaru-chan?'

She sighed and let go. The pair's conversation, fortunately, went unnoticed by the crowd of dancers. Hotaru answered, 'We're friends, yes. But… Yuki is… how should I say this…'

'Is?' Mikan pressed.

One word escaped the raven head's lips.

'Dangerous.'

Something flashed across Mikan's face. _'She couldn't possibly know who we are, right? I shot down all the surveillance cameras that night…'_

'Yuki… I really think she's not an ordinary girl like you and me. Well, at least not as ordinary as us alices can be. But… when we're close, I can feel the obvious difference between the worlds we both are standing in. Yuki… lives in a very different world from us. She's cute, smart, talented, and although a bit short, she is admired by many.

'On the other hand, I only have the Invention Alice and my hard work. You… are plain… not that smart, yet not stupid either… have a rather useless alice… You see, compared to Yuki, we are completely different.' Mikan winced as each demeaning term landed on her.

Hotaru continued, 'If it was only that, then I wouldn't be so worried, but… Mikan, Yuki is really dangerous.'

Mikan shook her head, 'You wouldn't know that. How dangerous can a blind 10 year old short stack girl be?'

'Mikan, please, just promise me. Don't go too close to Yuki, okay? If you play with fire, you'll get burnt!' Hotaru grabbed Mikan's forearms and said the words in an almost pleading way.

'Hotaru-chan…' Mikan looked conflicted.

'Please, Mikan. Yuki is not dangerous in the scary way, but dangerous in a way that makes you feel threatened about your own life. I don't know why, and I don't even think she can even do anything to threaten anyone's life, but the aura she gives out… Please, Mikan, stay away from her.'

'…Okay, Hotaru-chan. I'll try not to get too close to her from now on.'

**That night, in the attic Mikan and Yuki once occupied.**

The blue alice stone of water dropped from her fist and onto the musty floor. The dark hair framed her face, giving her facial features a cloak of shadow and a foreboding feeling.

'Saa… so in the end, the firefly wins over the frost, huh?'

'Of course, fireflies are cuter and much nicer than the snow.' The male voice was melodic, yet sadistic as the words made its impact on the young girl's face. He chuckled and hopped down from the window ledge he was perched on, making his way towards the girl. 'But unlike the firefly, the snow dominates and conquers. It is much more powerful than a lone firefly, Angel-chibi.' He caressed her smooth cheeks.

'…Flirting, Kisaragi?' Yuki glanced up at him.

The boy named Kisaragi laughed and backed away into the moonlight. Light brown hair stuck out in point locks, and two long side bangs reaching his collarbone hung on either sides of his face. **(A/N: Think Cloud Strife hair… yes, the epitome of pointy-hairness… OK, if you've got a better way to describe it, then please include it in a PM or a review. Just remember to keep the two long side bangs.) **

His face was nicely sculpted, with high cheekbones and sallow cheeks. His green eyes glinted, dancing in amusement. He was around Tsubasa's height, though he was much leaner. On his body was the middle school division uniform, though the shirt was untucked and the top few buttons were undone. His neck tie was untied and instead hung around his neck. The blazer was unbuttoned and showed off his lean chest, hidden behind the white shirt.

'So, how long have you been in the Academy?' Yuki got off the floor and sat on the bare bed.

Kisaragi picked up her alice stone and toyed with it, saying nonchalantly, 'This is only the second day. I haven't even been introduced to my class yet. By the way, I'm going under the name of Kirihara Kou. KK. Easy to remember, huh?'

'…And No.10?'

'He'll be coming… soon. I don't know when. He's taking his time, as usual, being the lazy ass he is,' Kisaragi snorted. 'I wouldn't be surprised if he came next year.'

'That is No.10's annoying tendency, though I think he'll be more serious on this trip. Then, the steps for the current mission… they're mostly done. All we have to do now is to guide the Academy to their impending doom.'

Kisaragi laughed, 'You're amazing, Yukiko.'

Yuki smiled, 'No, it's only a matter of reading people's minds and hearts, and then finding a way to utterly crush them.'

**Hey! I've got nothing much to say… After all, I was smacked right in the face by some reviews from a reader, and I was kinda depressed for a few days. But, I'm glad that someone has said that outright to me. Hehe… perhaps I was waiting for that kind of review. Anyways, happy holidays people. Everyday's a happy day!**

**I wonder if i need to say it again… R&R!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Gosh… it's been so long… don't throw anything at me! I finished this one first, so Winter Serenade is going to take a bit longer since I'm planning to remove some… scenes… that I think should not be there… Well, no need to worry about other stuff when you got this awesome chapter waiting! Enjoy!**

**Feathers of an Angel**

**Chapter 8**

**After the Alice Festival… Mikan and Yuki's bedroom…**

Yuki quietly plaited her hair into loose, long plaits as she waited for Mikan to finish getting ready. Mikan, on the other hand, was rushing through her daily routine twice as fast as usual, having woken up late. Sighing, Yuki put on her boots and star badge slowly, as if to taunt Mikan's current "predicament".

'I'm late! I'm late, I'm late, I'M LATE!' Mikan screamed, her hair going all frazzled and she clawed them in desperation. Her clothes were in disarray and her hair was left untied.

'Mikan.'

'Oh no!'

'**Mikan**.'

'What should I do? It's right after the Festival too! I don't have the time for breakfast!'

'MIKAN-BAKA!'

'Huh?' Mikan paused in her frenzy to look at the dark haired girl who was looking quite pissed off.

Yuki picked up the alarm clock and said, 'I set it 3 hours early.'

…

'EHHH?'

**At Classroom B…**

'Mou…'

'Stop sulking, Mikan,' Yuki patted her friend's back.

'But… you… played a prank on me!' Mikan wailed and tears spurted out from her eyes.

'It was a harmless prank. Besides, we have time to talk now,' Yuki gestured nonchalantly.

Mikan's eyes grew suspicious. 'We?'

'We as in everyone in this room right now.'

She tensed up as several presences became apparent to her. Mikan stood up and did a 360 to see who they were. Her gasp was hardly discreet.

'Surprised?' Yuki smirked and stood up as well.

'Shall we commence, then?' Kisaragi Jin stepped forward. Everyone nodded and pulled out their necklaces. Metal glinted in the pale morning light. Yuki and Kisaragi both pulled out their own set of bat wings and assumed their position at the front of the classroom.

'Has the room been secured?' Yuki asked sharply.

'It's been done,' Kisaragi assured.

'Very well, we may begin. Introductions first, it would seem,' Yuki sat on the table. She bared her necklace to the occupants of the room and said, 'Shirogane Yukiko, copper-silver rank. I'm one of the two leaders in this operation. Hm… I have the alice of Sight through water. Omniscience, in other words, but with a condition. Anything else you would like to know?'

'How did you become one of us?' Someone from the back of the classroom shot at her.

Yuki shrugged, 'It's not really your business to know. I don't keep track of these things either. Kisaragi, you're next.'

The teen smirked and swung his necklace on his index finger. He said, 'I'm Kisaragi Jin, copper-silver just like the midget. I'm the leader of this whole mess. I have no obligation to tell you what my alice is. Don't irritate me or else… I just transferred here so don't go around assuming you know me. And I think… that we should all keep our relations here a secret. But then again, I suppose you all know that.'

Yuki nodded and pointed to Mikan. Mikan turned to the rest of the people and showed them her necklace. 'I'm Sakura Mikan, copper rank. I have the alice of Nullification, as well as the Stealing alice, though that should remain as a secret for now. I'm Yuki-chan's assistant. Uh… I'm quite skilled in fighting…' Mikan looked quite faint at the mention of combat, but regardless held her stand until her part was over.

The man at the back stepped out and showed off his pair of bat wings. 'I'm Zero, more commonly known as Serio Rei or Persona over here. Copper rank and leader of those serving our organization on this side. You should know my Alice. I think we're in a mutual agreement that you brats will, on no circumstances, approach me in public.'

Yuki sighed, 'Right… I take it your mission is going well?'

Persona nodded, 'Yes. The Principal trusts me wholeheartedly. I think it would be easy for me to accomplish any missions pertaining to him at this point of time.'

Kisaragi ran a hand through his hair. 'That's good. You should understand that we are your superiors in this academy. All orders will be sent to you. I expect you to relay them to the appropriate parties.'

He gave a nod and blended back into the shadows. Next, two students from the middle school department stood up. They were obviously the next top-ranking agents there.

Kisaragi frowned, 'No high school students? That's not very good.'

Persona coughed from the shadows and said, 'The high school students I managed to get have graduated. They were the ones I have influenced… from my time. I was afraid to make any movements in fear of their principal.'

Yuki sighed and frowned, gesturing for the two to continue on.

'Yo, I'm Tsubasa Andou and this is my partner Misaki-chan! We're both copper rank, under Zero. We are the ones to conduct actual missions and stuff…' The black haired teen smirked cockily. His pink haired companion slapped his arm but didn't say anything.

'Tsubasa-senpai…' Mikan whispered to herself.

'What are your specialties?'

'Uh… I guess we're all-rounded. But we work as a team. Oh! And we're in that special spy team thingie that is being used to weed out the BH spies so we're sort of some double agent… yeah. Um, there're others that are spies too, right, Kokoroyome?' Tsubasa patted the sandy blond's head who was sitting just beside him.

The small elementary boy stood up. 'I'm Kokoroyome. I'm a copper rank, under Zero. I'm the scout and a double agent for our cause. Um… I now have orders to read Yukiko-san's and Mikan-san's minds but I'm feeding them false information at the moment. Do I have any new orders?'

Yuki thought for a moment before shaking her head. 'No, you may continue with that set of orders for now. Are there any other mind readers in that team right now?'

'Yes, but they're in the high school division. Apparently only my powers are strong enough in the elementary division,' Kokoroyome reported.

'Right…'

'Ano…' a blue haired girl stood up. 'I'm Nonoko. Um… I'm copper rank… under Zero-sensei. I-I'm the inventor… of sorts. It's my… job to produce medicine and supplements… for those on mission… Uh… I'm an agent because of my parents, like Ruka-kun.'

'Nogi Ruka, copper under Zero,' Ruka stood up, the rabbit usually in his arms absent. 'I'm also an agent because of my parents. I specialize in combat.'

'Tch, flaunting their background like that…' Some nameless middle school boy scoffed. The next second, a knife was lodged onto the table where he was, its blade touching his fingers very gently. There was no doubt who threw it as all eyes were directed from the now pale and shaking boy to the cool and collected blond boy.

'Enough! No fighting or insulting, or I will be forced to deal out punishments!' Persona growled from the back. Ruka sat down immediately, with Nonoko nervously following suit.

Kisaragi sighed and ruffled his hair. 'This is tiring. I don't have any more interest in listening to the rest of the introductions. The rest are all Blacks, right? No one important. We can skip them.' There were collective growls and protests, but a quick glare silenced them up.

'I'm sharing the same thought. Okay, onto the next topic. I'm sure Zero has relayed to you that Gold-ranked No.10 will be coming to the Academy soon. As in, he has plans to come to the Academy within the foreseeable future. So, all active missions will be suspended until further notice unless specified so that we will remain in relatively good relations with this school. So, Zero, please convey your orders!' Yuki jumped off the table. 'Hm, that's all, I guess?'

Kisaragi nodded and they both made their way to the door.

'Hey!'

Both of them turned around. A middle school boy was standing up, face contorted in fury and fear. He demanded furiously, 'Why did you kill him? The first "victim" of yours-he was a fellow agent!'

'Ah…'

The boy stormed up to the short girl and grabbed her by the shoulder. Shaking her angrily, he demanded, 'Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here and now!' He was suddenly silenced by a sharp pressure to his neck. Mikan and Kisaragi were holding shining silver blades to his neck, each on either side of him. The boy gulped and froze stiff in his actions.

'Let her go right now if you wish to not become the next sacrifice,' Kisaragi said coldly.

Mikan continued on, 'We're perfectly capable to decapitating you right now.'

The boy shakily lifted his hands off the girl. Yuki brushed her clothes, looking away. She looked thoughtful, before finally saying, 'If you really want to know that badly… the first boy was a traitor to us. It was discovered a few hours before our arrival that he intended to sell us out to the Academy, and that was unacceptable. As a result, we were forced to eliminate him. Not wanting to cause any unrest and wariness among the school, the council gave the order to move ahead with our plans and use that boy as the first… sacrifice for our plans. We didn't really want to kill him, but treason is not tolerated in this organization. Does this answer your question?'

The boy looked murderous. He spat out, 'So it's acceptable to kill someone else because he didn't agree with our ideals?'

'No, it's not. But do realize that it's either him or the rest of us. If we had been found out, there would be more at stake than just your pretty little life. Our plans will have fallen through, and all the agents would have been purged. Not even the boy would survive. You know how the Academy works. Kill off all the parasites. And that's how we work as well,' Yuki pointed to his bat wings hanging around his neck. 'If you're really an agent of our esteemed organization, then you should at least understand this. We will follow through with this mission, we will succeed, and we will do anything that is needed to accomplish that.'

'But… that's wrong!' He protested.

Kisaragi walked up to him and pulled the necklace off him, barking, 'That's enough! Someone like you is obviously not suited for this. Zero, settle with him after this!'

Persona nodded from the back of the classroom. Kisaragi and Yuki both turned to the door and walked away.

'Mikan! What are you doing? It's time for breakfast.' Yuki called over her shoulder.

Mikan got up hastily and said, 'Hai! I'm coming!' Tucking her necklace and the knife back into some place undetectable, she rushed to catch up with Yuki. Looking out of the door, she found the said girl walking alone. Turning back to the classroom, she realized it was empty.

'Huh…?'

**In Classroom 1B later that day… **

**Homeroom period.**

Narumi stood in front of the class with a gay smile on his face, wearing gay clothes and posing in a gay fashion. **(A/N: I have nothing against Narumi, but he creeps me out with his… personality at times.) **Clapping his hands several times, he said cheerily, 'Okay Class! We have something very special lined up for you next week! The end of year examinations will be starting next week!'

Collective groans echoed and a dull, dark, dreary atmosphere clouded the room. Mikan herself looked quite pale at the prospect of the examinations.

Narumi continued, 'It will be held for the whole of next week, and the subjects include… Mother Tongue, English Language, Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, Literature, Home Economics and, of course, whatever is being taught in your Alice class this term! Isn't that exciting?'

'…'

'…'

'NO IT'S NOT!' Came the collective shout.

Narumi sweat dropped at the response, but perked up a few seconds later and chirped, 'I'll leave you to your preparations! There will be free blocks for the rest of this week for you to do self-study, but the teachers will be available in the staff lounge to provide any assistance! Have a great two weeks ahead! And Shirogane-chan, I need to see you outside for a moment! Ta-ta!'

Yuki got up and left the classroom with Narumi. Mikan stoned in her seat and stared at the schedule of the exams that had been passed down previously.

'Mikan-chan?' Yuu approached her and asked concernly.

'…'

'Mikan-chan, are you ill?' Yuu shook her shoulder gently.

'I CAN'T DO EXAMS!' Mikan wailed all of a sudden. Yuu and those around her jumped back. Mikan slammed her head onto the desk and turned on the taps that lead to the leaking of her tear-taps.

'B-but Mikan-chan, you're great in your studies! What's wrong?'

Mikan cried some more. 'I really can't… I manage all the classroom work and stuff, but when it comes to exams, I can't do it! My mind freezes up and… and I forget everything! Ojii-san always scolds me when I get such low marks for my exams, but I can't help it!'

Hotaru looked at her coolly. 'That's right… you always fail exams back when we were in school. It seems that six months has done little to change that, ne, Mikan?'

'Mikan-chan…'

The classroom door opened again and Yuki walked back in and made her way to her seat. Mikan scooted over to make space for her to sit down, all the while dragging her tear-stained face across the desk. Sniffing, she asked, 'Yuki-chan, what did Narumi-sensei tell you?'

'I'm exempted from exams.'

'Eh?' Several heads shot up.

'Why?'

Yuki smoothed her blindfold. 'I can't see, and they don't feel that it's fair to conduct oral tests. They don't want to risk me using my Alice either, since there's a high cheating rate. There's no helping it this year, so I'm exempted. Meanwhile, they're going to push forward the schedule for treatment, so while you're studying, I'll be in the hospital.'

'Eh... Yuki-chan is so lucky…'

'Lucky? She won't have a chance at the top student prize now.'

Hotaru flipped a page of her book which she was currently studying and said, 'I don't think it's lucky to stay in the hospital. It creeps me out. Who is treating you, by the way?'

'Hm… who knows?'

'…'

'Well, it starts tomorrow, so why not we help Mikan-chan with the exams today?' Yuki suggested. 'What Mikan-chan really needs is the confidence for the exams. I think intensive confidence-building training will help.'

Hotaru's eyes glinted and a familiar sign appeared in her eyes. She immediately stood up and said, 'I have just the device for you! But, first, let's discuss the fees.' A calculator was whipped out of nowhere.

'Eh? But I just got my allowance yesterday!'

**Intensive Training Menu, Day 1…**

Hotaru heaved a pile of worksheets onto the table and if one listened hard enough, he would be able to hear the table screaming in protest under the weight of the paper(which then led to the question as to how exactly did she manage to carry all that over). Mikan stared and stared at the stack, and after a while, looked up at Hotaru questioningly.

Hotaru had a menacing glint in her eyes as she said, 'This will be part one of your training. To train your self confidence and efficiency in dealing with questions, you will be attempting 100 of these questions every hour. Between each hour will be a 15-minutes break, and we will begin with the next set immediately after. This will continue until dinner, and after which you will receive the marked and evaluated test papers to do corrections.'

'Eh?' Her jaw dropped to the floor.

Yuki, who was sitting in a corner, sniggered uncontrollably. Mikan shot her a glare, but it was weak due to the prospect of having to do numerous test questions for the whole day.

Hotaru picked up the first set of questions and placed them on Mikan's desk. She then went on to explain, 'These papers came from previous years' exams, and they are mixed up so that you will have a wide variety of questions to attempt. These will also train your ability to adapt and respond so that you won't be fazed by questions in the exam. Let's see…' She looked at the clock. 'The first paper begins… now.' She set the chicken-shaped timer and placed in front of Mikan. The said girl blinked for a second or two, before realizing the importance of time at the moment and began charging through the questions.

And then, one hour later…

Ring! Ring! Ring! The chicken rang loudly as the one hour was up. Mikan wearily turned over the paper and slumped down in her seat. She moaned, 'That has got to be the worst 1 hour of my life!'

'That will be one of the worst hours of your life,' Yuki corrected. She grinned, 'You still have many more to go!'

'Eh?' She turned slowly to the stack beside her and gulped at the still towering stack of papers.

From the other end of the building, one could hear a girl screaming 'NOOOOOOOOOO!'

And that process continued on for quite a while…

**Day 2, Hospital…**

Imai Subaru walked briskly down the corridors of the hospital, ignoring all the gazes and looks that he got from the people around him. Swiftly, rounding the corner, he made his way into the specialized wards in the northern wing of the hospital and entered a room with a plague stating: **Sight Correction Experiment VI, Examination Room**

'Ah, Imai-san, you're here!' The nurse inside greeted cheerfully. 'I've just finished getting her ready. You may begin when you want to!'

Subaru nodded and put on the white coat and gloves. He then swept his hair back casually and walked into the cordoned off area at the corner of the room. Sitting down at the desk beside the examination bed, he picked up a light blue file and opened it. Not a second later, the dark haired girl was wheeled into the area by the nurse. The nurse bowed and left the room quickly, leaving the two alone the in the big examination room.

"Are you ready?"

'… Saa, I suppose I'll know when you begin…' Yuki replied.

Subaru shot her a look but turned back to the file and wrote some notes in it. They sat there in silence, with only the sound of Subaru's pen scratching on the papers in the file.

'You're a special case. From what they tests are showing, there has been no damage at all to the eye itself, yet you are unable to see a thing. Just to confirm, you can't see anything at the present moment, can you?' Subaru asked.

Yuki shook her head. 'Not a single shape. Just… black.'

'We have classified this as psychological-based, so all treatment will be directed towards the psychological area. We will begin the examination now,' He stood up and walked over to Yuki.

Yuki grabbed onto his sleeve, pausing him in his actions. Subaru raised his eyebrows expectantly.

'You… are you doing this… for the credit you'd get if this succeeds?' Yuki asked.

Subaru's larger hand enclosed the small, dainty one on his sleeve. 'It's not like that.'

'Really? I heard scholarships to the Alice Academy Specialist University in Russia is impossible to get if you don't have enough outstanding pre-requisites on your dish. This… experiment, as they so nicely put it, would be quite attractive if it actually succeeds.'

'What you're saying…' Subaru knelt down. 'Is as if you're doubtful of why we're doing this, as well as our capability. Why?'

'Why would someone do this for a weak girl they've only seen and talked to a few times?' Yuki folded her hands on top of her chest.

Subaru sighed. 'It's actually… a favour. To Shuichi.'

'Sakurano-senpai?' Her head shot up.

'That's right. He asked of me this favour, and I agreed to do so. It's that least I could do for my closest friend. It's not really the credit and stuff, but Shuichi knows I want to go to the Medical Branch in that University, so he's trying to give me this chance. Are you at rest now?'

Yuki laced her fingers together, keeping her head dipped.

Subaru sighed and looked away.

'Then… that's alright then.'

'What?'

'I was afraid… but then hearing you makes me feel at ease now. Thank you, Imai-senpai,' Yuki smiled at him.

'Ah…' He pushed up his spectacles and looked away very deliberately. 'Let's go, shall we?'

'Hai!'

**A week later, after exams…**

The exam had proceeded smoothly, and when the last paper ended and the invigilator left the classroom, the students of Elementary Branch Class B erupted into cheers. Well, most students, anyways.

'It's over!' Mikan dropped her head onto the desk. 'It's finally over. I am so going to Central Town to get a parfait and enjoy this day!'

Hotaru's eyes glinted. 'Mikan, you're forgetting that you owe me your allowance for the next 2 months. Parfaits are out for you.'

Mikan darkened considerably. 'I know… but I think I did well for this exam. Your special… training helped… I guess…'

'Of course it did. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the top student award was clinched by you,' Hotaru said.

'Heh!'

'Though, if you do, then at least credit me by giving me that one month's worth of Central Town vouchers.'

'Mou, Hotaru-chan!'

Someone chuckled behind them. 'But if Mikan-chan really does get that prize, then I think she should treat us all to parfait.'

'Yuki-chan!' Mikan jumped and instinctively hugged the girl who had crept up to the pair from behind, dragging her onto the bench.

'Ack, Mikan, that hurts!' Yuki moaned, rubbing her butt.

'Sorry! But I'm so glad to see you again! I didn't see you the whole week! Where were you, mou! You didn't even return to the room!' Mikan pouted.

Yuki wrestled herself out of Mikan's arms and said, 'I was in the hospital. They figured it would be best if I stayed overnight so that they could monitor my condition. I had to wake up every two hours for tests… it was terror.'

'So who was treating you?' Hotaru asked, looking at her.

Yuki smiled. 'You brother, Imai Subaru.'

Everything in Hotaru's hands dropped. Hotaru grabbed the front of Yuki's blouse. 'When's your next appointment.'

'Ah… they gave me some drugs to test out… I guess… it should be in two weeks time…'

'I'm going with you.'

'Eh, Hotaru-chan?' Mikan cocked her head to the side.

'...'

'A heart to heart talk with your long lost older brother?' Yuki asked. Hotaru remained silent.

'Or maybe, Hotaru-chan just wants to call Imai-senpai: Onii-tama!' Mikan suggested cheerfully.

BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! The Baka gun was out and aimed at Mikan's head.

Hotaru blushed a bright pink and said, 'Stop saying things like that! In case you were wondering, which I definitely think you were, I wanted to warn him if he did anything to you that causes you any harm, I'd have his head for sure, whether he's my brother or not!'

**On the way to Special Abilities Class…**

'And?' Mikan looked at Yuki, holding her hand and swinging it.

'Nothing. He was just doing it…' Yuki answered.

'So you'll get your sight back?' Mikan's tone lifted a slight bit.

'Perhaps. There's a good chance that this will succeed.'

'That's good, isn't it?' Mikan smiled brightly. She touched Yuki's face and both of them paused in their steps.

'…Yes?'

'Does Yuki-chan… want this?'

'…' Yuki touched Mikan's hand, and then pointed to her chest, where it was sure that the pair of bat wings was hanging.

'Don't tell me… it's orders?'

'From No.10. He said that I should be as perfect as possible, and if it means that I must use the Academy, then I will,' Yuki tugged at Mikan's hand and started to walk.

'But I want to know if you want it, Yuki-chan!' Hotaru-chan?"Ho

A string of coughs interrupted their conversation. Mikan looked up, and saw a middle-school student sitting on the bench, coughing like mad into his hands. Not too far off, a few soft toys were trying to move a bucket of water to the sick male.

'Are you alright?' Mikan, being Mikan, rushed forward to the boy, dragging Yuki along.

'Ah…' the boy looked up. 'Could you… help me get some water?'

Mikan looked at the soft toys that were trying to move the bucket, but in vain. 'Don't tell me… those things are yours?'

The boy looked at where she was looking at, and face palmed. 'Why is it in a bucket…?'

Mikan laughed and said, 'I'll get you bottle! Just wait here!' And she ran off.

'Ah…' Yuki reached out, feeling strangely awkward being left alone with the senior.

'Um…' he looked at her. 'Would you like a seat?'

**Few minutes later…**

Mikan came running back with a bottle of fresh water, panting slightly. She stopped right in front of the boy, passing the bottle to him. 'Here!'

The boy accepted it gratefully, taking out a few pills and chugging it down with the water. When his coughing subsided, he looked at both of them and nodded in gratitude.

'Thank you. I needed that.' He smiled, dazzling Mikan. 'My name is Kaname. Sono Kaname. The soft toys are my creations. Hey, come over and say hello!' Instantly, five or six soft toys came piling on top of him, hugging his for their dear life.

'That's an amazing Alice!' Mikan exclaimed. One of them, a white rabbit, hopped into her arms and Mikan cuddled it. A brown bear nudged Yuki's arms, and she picked it up hesitantly.

'Where are you heading? I'm sorry to have held you up like this…'

'Oh, never mind! We're just going to the Special Abilities Class! We're early, anyways, and I doubt Noda-sensei is back from his excursion yet either!' Mikan passed the rabbit back to Kaname.

'Special Abilites… Could it be that you two are-'

'HEY! IT'S KANAME!'

They turned to see a group of middle school Special Ability students walking towards them. Leading them was Tsubasa himself.

'It's Kaname!' Misaki, who was tagging beside him, exclaimed.

'You're out of hospital? Really?' Tsubasa clapped the boy on the shoulder.

Kaname laughed and stood up. 'It's just for a day. I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't tell you all… sorry about that…'

'Sorry? Don't be! This is great!' Tsubasa swung an arm around him. 'Hey, let's go celebrate this! This is awesome!'

'YEAH!'

**Streets of Tokyo… in a black car…**

'Another job… how troublesome…'

'Lin-sama, Kisaragi Jin has been successfully planted into the Academy,' the man sitting opposite him reported after hanging up from a phone.

The man crossed his legs, running a hand through his stiffly gelled dark hair, trying to scoop a few loose strands back into place. He paused, moving his hand to his face, where he noted the missing last finger on his left hand and the spider webs of pearly white scars decorating the area. He grinned, clenching his fist, and looked back at the man with his sharp dark eyes.

'Good work,' he said, pulling out his pair of golden bat wings. He toyed with it with his left hand, looking out of the window.

'Looks like it's going to be a while before I get to see my room again, huh, Lang?' The high ranking man looked at his subordinate.

'Yes… Lin-sama…'

'Damn it, I thought I ordered you to call me Yang in private,' Lin glared at the man.

'I'm sorry… Yang…'

'No sweat. We are life-long partners, after all,' Lin looked back out of the window. 'You better get me some good rice wine once we get there. I'm starving already.'

'Then you should eat some proper food. As your subordinate, it's my duty to see that you are in best health,' Lang replied.

Lin gave a big laugh, smiling at the man. 'You really… are… a mother hen, Lang. It's no wonder that you're the closest one to me.'

Lang bowed his head. 'I'm not worth that praise… Lin-sama.'

'You are, Lang Zi,' Lin said seriously. 'Once we get into the Academy, stay by my side at all times. Even when I'm going to the toilet. You will watch my back like it's your own life, and the same for me. I can't bear to lose you. After all, where else can I get such a loyal servant?'

He kept his head bowed. 'Understood. As I can't bear to leave you either, Yang.'

**Alice Academy… That Night…**

Kaname smiled as he watched the stuffed bear trot away into the night. The bobbling lantern danced in the dark woods, and he kept his eyes on the bear until the light had completely faded away into the forest, leaving the place as quiet and peaceful as it first was.

Kazane sighed and looked around.

And nearly had a heart attack when he saw a dark haired girl standing beside his window, completely unnoticeable unless he had turned to look.

'You are… the girl from this morning…' Kaname said, taking in the Elementary branch uniform she was wearing.

'I'm Shirogane Yukiko. May I… talk for a while?' She turned to him, showing him clearly the blindfold she had around her eyes.

Kaname looked at her, before saying, 'Sure. Do you want to… come in?' He held out an arm. Yuki took it and hopped into the room lightly.

Kaname sat down on the bed and looked at her, 'So… what did you come here to talk about?'

Yuki sat on the window ledge. 'I know… about your Alice.'

He winced. 'And… are you going to tell me to stop doing what I love to do?'

'No. What you do with your life is none of my business,' Yuki replied. He winced at the words. Yuki continued, completely oblivious to his reaction, 'But I do want to know… what having that Alice entails for you. Why are you so willing to… split your life force and insert them into these… creations… for others? Is it really worth it?'

Kaname laughed hollowly. 'It's not whether it's worth it or not. It's about my will. I've always been a weak child, and I couldn't play or enjoy certain things like other children could. This Alice is a form of redemption for me. It's something I can finally do. That's why I am willing to do it. If it's a mean to anchor my existence into this world, then I would willingly do it.'

Yuki inclined her head. 'And what of the soft toys?'

'Huh?'

'What of them… when you finally… go away. Will they continue to stay here, alive when their main body is gone, or will they too, die off when the main body dies, and erase your existence from the minds of those girls you gave those heartfelt toys to?'

He clenched the sheets in his fists, crumpling them up.

'Continuing to do so is but a temporary solution. No, a solution that has adverse effects. You achieve nothing but the temporary infatuation of those girls. Every girl you win over with that Alice is another few months of your life being drained away, and every toy you continue to make is but you killing yourself over self indulgence. These toys have no meaning once you die to those girls. They may feel sad, but once time passes, you too, will fade, just like their tears.'

'That's… not true!' Kaname stood up angrily. 'I… these toys… they're part of me. They bring happiness to the people I give them to! It's not worthless!'

'The happiness is but fleeting. What use is happiness when you're killing yourself over a few girls you don't even know that well? When they only see you because of that bit of happiness you can offer?' Yuki stood up as well.

Kaname grabbed the half-sewn fabric from his bedside table and shoved it into her hands. 'This is a part of me! Even if it's but a short while, I'm still giving happiness to the people around me! It doesn't matter if I die, because I still managed to bring happiness to people!'

Yuki pushed the cloth back to him. 'Even if it means hurting the people around you?'

'What?'

'Tsubasa-senpai is hurting because of your constant hospitalization. Misaki-senpai can't help but feel pain every time you cough. Just because I can't see doesn't mean I am oblivious to these people's feelings. They respect your decision so much that they are willing to shoulder the pain just to see you satisfy yourself by cutting your lifeline away.' Yuki touched his hand. 'Are you willing to let these people, the ones that see you as their friend, not the Alice, not the toy-maker, not the cute kohai - your true companions, anguish over your death?'

Kaname sat back down heavily on the bed.

'There are people that don't look at you for the Alice, but for what you truly are. Even then, do you still delude yourself into thinking that the only way to anchor your existence is by making these toys?' Yuki took a step towards him. 'So I ask again, is it truly worth it, to be killing yourself over this matter? Is it worth it to split your soft toy for those annoying senpais you see out there, clamoring for something cute, not something you put your heart into.'

'No…'

'Senpai?'

'No… it's not,' Kaname sobbed. 'But what else can I do? It's the only thing I know! I don't know a life that doesn't have this!'

'Then look towards Tsubasa-senpai. He's your friend, no? Surely he knows how.'

'I…'

Yuki walked back to the window and stepped onto the ledge. 'It's not that… I'm saying that your Alice is useless… It's just that, I think it has far more potential than for you to just be using it to satisfy some girls.'

'My Alice… why am I given this gift?' Kaname looked at his hands, slightly calloused from the hard work he had poured into making the soft toys.

'That's for you to decide,' Yuki jumped off and out of the room. She turned back briefly. 'By the way, senpai… If you were given a chance… to not suffer from what you are now… would you take it?'

Kaname walked to the window and stuck his head out to look at her. 'You mean… not be the fourth type Alice anymore?' Yuki nodded. Kaname furrowed his brows, before sighing, 'I think… after all that you've said… I would. No more do I want to give up my life freely. I want to live, Shirogane Yukiko. If I have a choice, then I would surely… surely, chose the path to live on.'

She smiled at him softly. 'That's nice, huh?'

'What?'

She had already run off into the woods.

**In another venue…**

The High School Principle looked cautiously at the man getting out of the black car. His Alice activated on its own, and he confirmed with his own eyes that this man was an Alice. An Alice of high skill. Principle Yukihira shivered. This was not going to be an easy negotiation.

The man gave a mock salute at the blond, cocking his head to the side.

'Yo! I'm Lin Yang, and this is my… subordinate, Lang Zi. We're the representatives from the Black Halloween,' Lin smirked. 'I hope we have a good time in your Academy, High School Principle Yukihira Kazu.'

He narrowed his eyes at the use of his name without introducing himself beforehand. Yes, this was going to be a tough talk.

**Whew… That was long. It's almost 6k words… and 16 and a half pages long. Well… it's still kinda short for nearly a whole year's update… cringes! Sorry! Still, I hope you enjoyed this. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Feathers of an Angel**

**Chapter 9**

Rumors were flying around everywhere.

"Did you hear? The BH guy came last night? Some saw him!"

"I heard he looks gorgeous!"

"That's too bad… if he was a teacher here…"

"Don't forget, he's fighting against the AA."

"But they came to make negotiations, right? The BH can't be that bad…"

"I see him!"

"What!"

The High School Students rushed to the windows, looking out at the grounds. Two men were walking just a few steps behind their High School Division Principal. One of them was a dark haired man in his 20s, with gelled hair and spectacles, donning a navy suit and gold tie. His greenish-blue eyes glinted, and he wore a small smirk as he walked in a relaxed, composed, and in many girl's eyes, "COOL" style.

"He's so dreamy!" One of the girls screamed, practically pressed up against the window.

The one beside him had a slightly wilder look. His spikey, platinum blond hair was combed back, but still stuck up madly at the back of his head. He was also in a suit, black with a silver tie, though he had several chains and straps going around his body for some reason. He walked with his back straight, hands stuffed in his pockets, face void of expression and green eyes darting around warily. He was just half a step behind his companion.

"I'd go for the blond one though! I like the wild, untamed, cool look!" Another girl gave a purr. "He's almost like a cat!"

"Tiger!"

"Leopard!"

"Meow!"

Sakurano sighed inwardly. The girls were making a great commotion about the two Ambassadors from the Black Halloween. He admitted, they did have rather unique and attractive looks, but he didn't think that was enough to send the hormone-crazy females on a "fan-girl mode".

"Shuichi," Subaru called him. Sakurano turned to his vice-president and nodded, resuming his walk to the Student Council Room.

Or the secret room beside the Student Council Room.

Subaru stopped beside the door to their room, turning to take a brief glance at Sakurano. He nodded, and Subaru pressed his palm against the door frame.

Seconds ticked by, and the wall slid open to reveal a dark room. Sakurano and Subaru walked in, flicking on the lights.

They were all there. Perfect.

Barely moments later, Persona walked in from an alternate door. They all stood up and gave him a bow.

"Sit."

They did as told.

Persona leaned against the wall, looking at the group of students that had gathered.

Sakurano and Subaru took a seat at the back, observing the lot.

This was a secret meeting. A meeting for a special student committee dedicated to suppressing the BH influence in the Alice Academy. An important meeting, for an important group.

"Kokoroyome, report," Persona drawled out, quick to get the meeting started.

The sandy haired Elementary Division boy stood up and bowed. "Kokoroyome reporting. Orders received stated that I was to observe the mental activities of two suspects in the Elementary Division: Sakura Mikan and Shirogane Yukiko."

Sakurano winced. He didn't want to think that the short, quiet girl was associated with that kind of organization that killed…

The boy continued, "Over the period given, I have noted the different thoughts that they were thinking about, and I have classified them in the following categories." He pulled out a small notebook.

"For Sakura Mikan, her thoughts mainly centered around the following," Kokoroyome read out from a notebook, "Imai Hotaru, Shirogane Yukiko, Hyuuga Natsume, Nogi Ruka, Narumi-sensei, Star Rank, Hawalon, Central Town, Duties, Special Abilities Class, and the Giant Pyon. During the Exam Period, it was impossible to determine what she was thinking as her mind was clotted with exam syllabus and unnecessary information on the Shinsengumi."

Sakurano noticed Andou Tsubasa, sitting in a corner with his pink-haired friend, cough not-so-discreetly. Noda-sensei's doing, most probably?

Kokoroyome continued, "For Shirogane Yukiko, her thoughts centered around: Sakura Mikan, Imai Hotaru, Student Council, Special Abilities Class, Treatment, and analyzing Mozart's Sonata in A minor."

_What? _Was the general reaction amongst the students.

Admittedly, the last one was completely unexpected.

Persona coughed and said, "Continue your observations. I do not see these as a concern just yet."

Kokoroyome nodded and sat back down.

Tsubasa and Misaki both stood up next. Tsubasa rubbed the back of his neck, and began, "Tsubasa and Misaki here! We were instructed to watch out for potential suspects in the Middle School Division that may be associated with the BH. Our current suspects are: Yamazaki Suzu, Aoyama Mizuki and Tezuka Mitsukini. The former two have parents who were activists… they protested heavily against the Alice Academy in general. The two were admitted into the Academy at the ages of 11 and 12 respectively, so they may have been influenced by their parents to think of the Academy in a negative light."

Misaki fidgeted and shifted her weight around, continuing from where Tsubasa left off, "Tezuka Mitsukini is a different case, though. He is constantly alienated by his peers due to his unusual Alice – Sticky Hands, which as the name implies, allows his hands to act like suction pads and attach themselves to any object solidly unless he wills it otherwise. As a result, he too shares some resentment towards the Academy. Ever since BH was made known, he has been snooping around trying to get more info on the organization, and has attempted to influence his peers into supporting the BH."

Persona gave a small nod.

"Another thing."

Tsubasa held out a finger. "That middle school boy that was killed… we dug up some dirt on him. It turns out that his family too were activists against the AA… and he was planning to side with the AAO and act as an inside spy. At least, that's what we found on his journals and personal blogs. A list of contacts with the outside world had also been found. We passed it straight to the DA class right after we found it."

Sakurano's eyebrows rose. So the boy was going to betray them? So the BH did a favour to them by killing him off?

"What are we going to do now?" one of the not-so-prominent ones asked.

Persona adjusted the mask on his face. "For now… while the BH ambassador is in our campus… we will maintain a hospitable image. The Higher-Ups want, if possible, a non-violent resolution to this situation. Therefore, we shall engage in a silent non-violence treaty with them. Judging by the lack of activity after the first few days, it would seem that they too would agree to this course of action."

Sakurano nodded silently. Mutual agreements… showing the same train of thought and motives. Non-violence treaty… meaning that they too wish to avoid conflict.

They were really showing a really good image to the Academy.

The thing was, should they believe this side of them or not?

And the meeting continued on…

**XxxX**

"Iincho won the 'Student of the Year' award!"

"Iincho's going home for a week!"

"That's… great!"

"Ahhh I envy him…"

"Iincho worked hard! You have no right to envy him, you slacker!"

Mikan happily grasped the Class President's hand, exclaiming, "Congratulations, Iincho! It's great that you're finally going home!"

Yuu rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yes… It is… Thank you, Sakura-san."

Hotaru looked up from the blueprint of the latest invention she was working on, commenting, "I heard you have a younger sister now…"

Yuu blushed and nodded. "Yes, I've only seen her from the photos my family sends me… she's three right now! I'm excited to see her… as her brother…"

"That's great!" Mikan clapped her hands together, smiling broadly.

Yuu smiled again and nodded. "I'll be sure to get souvenirs for you all."

"What?"

"Souvenirs?"

"Iincho! Get me some too!"

"I want that sweet you always boasted about!"

"Can you get me that samurai doll? It's the one on that anime I was talking about!"

"Iincho! I want the local mochi!"

"Ahhhh~! Alright, alright, line up and tell me what you want!"

It turned out that the line extended all the way from Iincho's seat at the front of the class to outside the classroom.

**XxxX**

Mikan dropped onto her bed, tired from an entire day of studying. Her test results had been satisfactory, but it wasn't good enough to earn her the Student of the Year award. That, coupled with her poor star rank of One Star, completely trashed her hope of ever going to see her Jiji…

"What's wrong, Mikan?" Yuki sat on her bed, pulling off her boots. "Depressed over something?"

Mikan turned to lie on her stomach and looked glumly at the black haired girl. She muttered, "I miss Jiji… I want to win the Award thing too…"

Yuki paused for a while in the midst of pulling off her left boot. She turned slightly to face Mikan, and said, "Did you think… that they would let you go out of the Academy… with our current status?"

Mikan's expression darkened significantly. "It's not like I chose to be part of the bat wings, Yuki-chan."

Yuki turned away and pulled off her socks.

"I mean… I come home from school one day and suddenly I'm dragged off and thrown into a black car, and the next time I know, I'm being injected with some funny thing 3 times a day and kept in a white room," Mikan scowled and pulled off the ribbons in her hair. "I didn't even know what was going on with me until a whole year later!"

Yuki didn't say a thing as she worked on her right foot, removing the boots and socks.

"And then Yuki-chan showed up and started teaching me how to fire a gun… I didn't even get a say in things…" Mikan combed her hair with her fingers. "I… hate the-"

"If you complete that sentence, I may have to execute you for treason," Yuki interrupted, standing up.

Mikan sat up as well, eyes wide in shock. "Yuki-chan… would kill _me_?"

"Treason is a serious crime. If you declare it so openly, as your superior, I will have to deal out appropriate punishment."

"Yuki-chan…" Mikan started tearing. "Yuki-chan knows how hard it is for me! I didn't choose this, yet I'm being made to do all these disgusting things that I don't even want to think about! And yet, all you can think about is the _rules_?"

She smoothed down her uniform, pausing as her hands felt the outline of the bat wings under her blouse. Yuki cocked her head to the side, saying, "Mikan… you don't know the circumstances in which you were… inducted into the bat wings? Didn't anyone tell you anything?"

Mikan shook her head, still crying.

Yuki sat down on the bed again, untying the blindfold from her head.

"Yuki-chan?"

"Do you… want to know?"

"What?"

Yuki opened her dull golden eyes, turning her head to Mikan's direction.

"I know… the reason why you are in the situation you are in, right now."

Mikan felt her pulse race.

"Do you… want me to tell you?"

**XxxX**

'_No, it can't be!'_

Mikan dashed out of the room, shooting down the hallway.

'_It's a lie! It must be a lie!'_

She threw herself into the cold night air, stumbling down the stairs and onto the brick pathway leading to the dormitory.

'_Jii-chan would never… he would never…'_

The slippers she wore twisted and she fell down heavily on the rough path, grazing her knees and palms.

'_I… Yuki-chan…'_

A tear leaked out from her eye and dripped onto the cold stone path.

'_Yuki-chan… has never lied to me… right?'_

"Oi, Polkadots."

Mikan looked up, eyes still brimming with tears. Standing in front of her was the Class' only Special Star, Hyuuga Natsume, and also the prized Kuroneko of the Dangerous Ability Class.

"What… Hyuuga-kun," Mikan rubbed the tears from her eyes and looked away defiantly.

Natsume crossed his arms and stared down at her. "What're you doing out here past curfew?"

"I could say the same for you," Mikan retorted, folding her arms as well.

"…"

"…"

"Hn."

"Hmph!"

Natsume sat down on the cold brick path, just a few feet away from her and let his gaze wander up to the starry sky above them.

Mikan looked at him from the corner of her eyes, shifting slightly.

They sat in silence for a while.

"What are you doing here?" Mikan, finally mustering the courage and curiosity, asked.

Natsue lowered his gaze to look at her.

"I wanted to gaze at the stars."

"Out here?"

"I'm hot." He answered quickly.

Mikan scoffed and chuckled, "Yeah, I bet. You're shivering in your boots."

"You're the one in pajamas and slippers… Polka," Natsume retorted with a slight sneer.

"Why you!" Mikan crawled up and made to strike him, only to fall back down in pain. She winced as she brought her knees up to check on her injuries. The grazes were all bloodied and had pieces of gravel stuck deep into them. Her pants were already stained with the dark red blood.

"Ow…" Mikan moaned softly, trying to brush the dirt off the wound.

"Hey, stop that," Natsume caught her hand. Mikan looked at him quizzically. He sighed and pushed her hands away, picking the gravel out skillfully by himself.

"Eh… eh?"

"Shut up and keep still," Natsume shot at her. Mikan froze up and nodded stiffly. He gently removed the bits of rocks from her knees, and then reached into his pocket to pull out a green stone.

"What's that?" Mikan tilted her head to the side.

"Alice stone. Haven't you heard of it?" He looked at her.

Mikan shook her head. "What's it for?"

"Tch. Just watch and see," Natsume wrapped the chain of the stone around his right hand, leaving the stone to dangle just in front of his palm, and then held his right hand over her knees. Instantly, she felt a warm, soothing power over her wounds, and soon, the wounds and pain were gone.

"Wow! Amazing!" Mikan touched her knees, prodding it gingerly. "It's as if I never got those grazes!"

Natsume pocketed the Alice stone and turned back to the stars.

Mikan looked at him shyly, chewing her lower lip. She raised a hand apprehensively, and then quickly tapped his shoulder.

Natsume turned around. "What?"

"Th-… Thank you…. Hyuuga-kun," Mikan blushed and bowed her head.

"Hn." He turned back to the stars.

"Ah… ah…" Mikan hugged her knees to her chest.

"So what are you doing out here?"

Mikan looked down. "I… I… That is… Um…" Mikan swallowed the lump in her throat and said, "I heard something… I didn't like… and I… ran… away…"

"Eh?" Natsume looked at her incredulously. "You ran away because of something that trivial?"

"It's not like that!" Mikan burst out, glaring at him angrily. She then looked down, embarrassed, saying in a softer and calmer tone, "It's… not what you think it is…"

_-Flashback-_

"_Don't you want to know?"_

_Mikan gripped the bedsheets tightly, looking at Yuki pleadingly even though she couldn't see it._

"_I… do…"_

_Yuki turned to Mikan fully. "Do you know how you came to be under your Jiji's care?"_

"_Eh?"_

"_Ten years ago, just months after you were born, a woman left you in a temple monk's care. She then fled, never to be seen again, and never went back to collect her daughter which she had abandoned."_

"_That… how can that be…"_

_Yuki continued on, "The temple monk was a strict practitioner of his religion. He had barely enough money to support himself, much less to raise a child. Of course, being the kindhearted man he was, he couldn't afford to let a young child die."_

_Mikan could tell what was coming next._

"_The Black Halloween heard of your Jiji's plight, and immediately offered to support your Jiji and you for as long as you lived, in exchange for letting you join their ranks once you were old enough to receive training," Yuki tilted her head to the side. "And having no other option available, he agreed."_

"_No way… You're lying, right?" Mikan jumped up in disbelief. "Ji-chan would never… he would never sell me off!"_

_Yuki stood up as well. "If he hadn't agreed, you would have died from starvation."_

"_He had no right to do this to me!"_

"_Would you have rather him letting you die a slow, painful death and let it weigh on his conscience for the rest of his miserable life?"_

"_Ji-chan would… never…" Mikan jumped over the bed and grabbed Yuki by her shirt. "How do you know all these things?"_

_Yuki raised an eyebrow. "I'm your superior. Of course I know these things. After all, it was me that found out about you."_

_Mikan's hands dropped to her side._

"_That can't be… Yuki-chan… condemned me?"_

"_Mikan-"_

"_I hate you!" _

_And she bolted._

_-End of Flashback-_

Mikan buried her face in her hands, mumbling, "I said I hate her… I said I hate Yuki-chan!"

"And so?"

"And so?" She looked at him, tears once again brimming at her eyes. "Yuki-chan is my… is my best friend and-"

"Then why do you hate her?"

"That…" Mikan dropped her head. Natsume sighed and looked at her.

"How troublesome. You said she's your best friend, right?" Mikan looked at him, confused. Natsume sighed and scowled. "What I mean is that, since she's your best friend, if you want to keep it that way, then you should go apologise."

"Ah… oh…" Mikan blinked. She got up quickly. "Thanks, Natsume-kun! You helped a lot!" And she ran off.

Natsume rubbed the back of his head. "Troublesome…"

**XxxX**

At that time, a reconciliation of another kind was taking place.

"Excellent piece of glass, really," The dark haired man commented, lifting the wine glass up to his eye level. He looked at the blond haired High School Principal through the glass, examining him through the cool yellowish alcohol in the glass.

"Indeed," Yukihira Kazu replied, lifting his own glass in a toast.

Lin Yang smiled, eyes curving in an upward arc. "To a successful negotiation?"

"To a successful negotiation," Yukihira echoed. They tilted the wine glass back, taking a small sip of the alcohol.

Yukihira set the glass down, leaning back against the chair and observing the delegate from the Black Halloween. Lin, on the other hand, was still looking at Yukihira through his wine glass.

Yukihira spoke, "Is there something so fascinating about that wine glass, Lin-san?"

The man chuckled, "Do you think so?" He took another sip of the wine. "Ah, yes, this is good stuff."

The Principal inclined his head.

Lin set the glass down with a flourish, lacing his hands and smiling broadly at the man sitting opposite him. "You know what the worst thing about negotiations is?" The blond raised his eyebrows. "We all start out looking at the other end through a wine glass."

"A wine glass?" He repeated incredulously.

"Appropriate metaphor, do you not think?" Lin picked up the wine glass again. "Through this glass, I do see you, but how much of the real you do I actually see? Right now… hm, you look like you have a huge neck…" From Yukihira's side, he could see Lin's greenish blue left eye, yellowish due to the liquid inside the glass, peering at him.

He got the message. "An assumption… a judgment of the other party…"

Lin snapped his finger. "That's it! Right now, you see me, one of the heads of the organization named the Black Halloween. Recently, someone in this Academy has died, no?"

"A Middle School boy, killed in the school grounds," he affirmed. "It was the work of your organization."

"Yes, yes, we all have heard of that story," Lin smiled. "So now, you're seeing me as one of the heads of a group of people that, apparently, have no qualms about killing little boys. Am I wrong in making his assumption?"

Yukihira remained silent.

"Not a good idea to reply, hm?" Lin laughed. "A good diplomat, you are." He clapped his hands together, leaning forward. "But you see, we all so start off out with prejudices. It is only human to do so."

"And… you're not?"

"You caught me."

The Principal straightened up from his seat, looking at the man seriously.

"You believed me, didn't you?" Lin smiled. "Good to see that you do take my words seriously."

"You were lying?"

"Of no, of course not," He shook his head, the smile still present on his face. "It would be unwise to lie during a negotiation. It is highly unprofessional for a seasoned agent like me to do such a thing." He raised his left hand – the one missing a finger, and smiled, "I'm an Alice, as you can see, Principal Yukihira-kun."

Yukihira tensed, raising a hand hesitantly to his eyes. "What do you mean… Lin-san?"

"You know what I mean, Yukihira-kun," Lin said. "I know… about you… and your Alice. Or should I say, Alices?" He caught the look on the blond's face. "I'm not lying, Yukihira-kun. As I've said, it is unprofessional for me to do such a thing."

"Then, about you not being human…"

"In the general public's eyes, we are hardly human, are we not?" Lin stood up, taking the wine glass with him, and started to pace the room. "People born with such an ability to defy science… Telekinesis, Teleportation, Pyrokinesis… tell me, are humans meant to possess such powers, or are we simply not human?" He shrugged, taking a position by the window behind the Principal's desk. "Is an Alice human?"

"You don't know that," the Principal pointed out.

"Of course I don't. Such a philosophical thing, humanity is," Lin shook his head. "My psychiatrist told me that it's all in the state of mind, who we are. We are who we think we are. I think, therefore I am. So right now, if we think that because of these abilities which are beyond the capabilities of a normal human body, then we might as well not be human, because our existence defies what a human body should be.

"But then, but then, it's all in the state of mind. Our bodies may not be human, but our minds, our minds may still be human. We think and feel emotion like other humans do, and we too have our own set of morals and values. So while our shell is not human, our spirits are. Well, that's just a way of saying things… but you do get what I mean, no?" Lin smiled.

"What are you trying to get at?" Yukihira asked slowly.

The man took a sip from the glass in his hands. He sighed and looked at the blond. "People see what they are, not who we are. Tell me, if we were to go out of this school right now bearing the symbol of this Academy, who would look at us… like we're aliens? Who would see us… for the monetary benefits an Alice would bring if sold on the black market? And Who would treat us… like part of the crowd?" Yukihira flinched. Lin went on, pacing back to where the Principal was sitting, "It's going on everywhere. We are not being treated like human beings. Once the outside knows of our special abilities, they cease to see us as humans. We may think and look like one, but whatever we do, we still… are not humans in their eyes."

Lin leaned on the back of Yukihira's chair. Yukihira sat straight in his chair, not turning to look at the man behind him.

"Wouldn't you like… a world for all Alices… where we aren't treated this way?"

The High School Principal bowed his head.

"Hm? Why so silent? What do you say, Yukihira-kun?" Lin got up and returned to his seat.

Yukihira looked at the man in front of him. "An excellent debater and negotiator you are… Lin-san."

"That is of course, Yukihira-kun," Lin smiled. "Let me reintroduce myself. I am Lin Yang of the Black Halloween, and Head of Liaison and External Affairs Department. Our objective is to reach a friendly and non-violent partnership between the Alice Academy and Black Halloween, for the sake of the Alices. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Yukihira-kun."

Yukihira suppressed a shudder, saying in a slightly shaky tone, "And what purpose do you have… here in the Alice Academy?"

"We're looking for partners, of course. Such an ideal cannot be put into place by the effort of one little organization," Lin chuckled. "And without saying, out partner needs to be… the best the world has to offer. We highly value our agents, Yukihira-kun, and we wish nothing but the best for them. We hope for no harm to even reach them at all. Therefore we must be of want of a partner that will provide us both mutual benefits. I assure you that this trip here only affirms your top position among the other potential partners we're looking at, Yukihira-kun."

He narrowed his eyes. "Like the AAO."

"The AAO? Ah, them… Yes, they had been a likely candidate, a few months back. But yes, like the AAO."

"Their beliefs clash with ours," He pointed out.

"Yes, that's why I said that they _were _a likely candidate, had not the incident a few months back. We have dropped them from the list. Temporarily, until they can redeem themselves," Lin smiled and nodded. "Compared to them, you have a far greater advantage in this area… Yukihira-kun."

Lin slipped an arm around the principal's neck, caressing the military-styled suit with a tender touch. He whispered into Yukihira's ear, "I suggest you use this opportunity wisely, _Yukihira-kun_." His fingers travelled down the star symbol for the Alice Academy on his chest. Lin smirked. "_It'll not come again easily._"

**XxxX**

Tsubasa stopped outside the door.

"Here's your room… uh…" He scratched his head. "Kirigake-kun?"

The brown haired boy's face twitched. "It's Kisaragi. Kisaragi Jin."

"Oh, I knew that!" He grinned.

Kisaragi quirked and eyebrow, stepping past him and opening the door to the dorm room. It revealed a clean, albeit bare room, equipped with just a simple single-sized bed, a cupboard and a desk. He walked in, touching the white-washed walls apprehensively.

"You're new, so you've been given a 1-star room," Tsubasa informed, walking in as well and closing the door.

"It's… not what I expected…" Kisaragi admitted.

"Common toilets are down the hall. Only the girls get toilets in their rooms," He shrugged. "You better go there early to get warm water, but not too early or you'll freeze to death. Laundry services are only available for 3-stars and above. There's a laundry room on the top floor. Detergent is not supplied. Sheets can be changed weekly at the information counter on the ground floor. As for the cleaning… only 3-stars and above will get cleaning services. More things will be added to your room as your rise the ranks, of course, but for now, this is what you're stuck with."

"Strict," He commented, opening the window to glance outside – which was the brick wall of the adjacent building just an arm's length away.

"3-stars get to choose their own rooms. Needless to be said, they chose the ones with the best view and the largest leg room," He chuckled, walking in. Even though he stood as far as he could from him, they could easily stretch out their hands and touch each other if they wanted to.

"So…" Kisaragi shut the window closed and turned to the black-haired boy. "What do you have for me?"

Tsubasa smirked and slipped a slim, black rectangular block out of his pocket. The bat wings on it gleamed.

Kisaragi smirked.

"This is a recording of the meeting."

"Good work, Tsubasa. I'll make sure you'll be properly rewarded for this."

"Naturally, Kisamaki-san."

"It's Ki. Sa. Ra. Gi. Kisaragi Jin."

"Sure thing, Kimigake-kun."

"…Just Jin will do, Tsubasa."

"Righty-O, Jin-chan!" Tsubasa waved and left the room. Kisaragi sighed and sat down on the bed, looking at the mirror hanging just opposite the bed.

"_**Ohhh… You let someone else call you by your name~…"**_

"Shut up, Shin," Kisaragi scowled at his reflection, snatching up the sheets and throwing it over the mirror. He looked at the white sheets covering the reflective surface, feeling the presence in his mind diminish till it was no more than an inconceivable whisper at the back of his head. He huffed and laid down on the bed.

"Just let this stupid thing be over and done with…"

**XxxX**

Not long later, news of 'Stolen Alices' began to rise in the Academy. Narumi had briefed the entire Elementary B Class of the incident, leading them to their current worries:

Mikan had been curious about how the Alices had been stolen. "I mean… Alices don't just die away, do they? Unless it's the First type – the childhood type."

Kokoroyome, unexpectedly well-versed in the subject, nodded. "Yeah. I can hardly think of anyone who lost their Alice naturally apart from that exception. Maybe something out there is taking their Alices away from them forcefully? Like ripping them out of their soul?"

Ruka frowned at that idea. "Ripping the Alice out of their soul?"

"Yeah. Alice is part of us, isn't it? I mean, it's part of how we define ourselves. We're special, in a way that nothing can really explain. Alice is like part of our psyche," Kokoroyome said, displaying a rare display of wisdom.

"But if someone was really 'ripping' the Alice away from us, then I suspect that those kids must have felt something wrong. They didn't complain of anything… they didn't even notice when they lost their Alice!" Mikan exclaimed. She turned to Yuki, who was playing with two metal balls in her hand. "What do you think, Yuki-chan?"

Yuki paused in her playing of her little toys. "We're Alices, ne? We've been exposed to many out-of-the-world experiences, ne?" The students nodded. "What's to stop is from believing that there's someone out there with a Stealing Alice?"

"Stealing Alice…"

"Man, that is some scary stuff. Really? Someone that goes around stealing Alices? That's like, totally against what an Alice is."

"Yeah, but we have Sakura-san with her Nullification Alice too, right? She too is somewhat an Anti-Alice force. If Nullification is possible, then maybe even Stealing is possible!"

"Whoah… a Stealing Alice…"

"Wicked, like there's Alice, and then there's the non-Alice… Alice… things…"

Outside the classroom, Narumi sighed and leaned against the wall, listening in on the conversation happening inside. Misaki walked up to him, folding his arms. "How's the students?"

Narumi ruffled his hair, saying, "The students… Well, Shirogane Yukiko has just planted the notion of a Stealing Alice being possible. I don't think that was intentional, but that girl… her ideas can be really dangerous. Well, the class' taken in by the idea, so they're now wondering who in the world could possibly have the Stealing Alice. At least they haven't found out about the cases in the Middle School Division just yet."

Misaki narrowed his eyes. "You don't think it's _that woman, _don't you?"

Narumi chuckled and walked away, shrugging. "Who knows? Maybe there's someone else out there with the same Alice as that woman." Misaki sighed and shook his head.

"I know, Naru, that you're still looking for her."

Narumi paused in his steps.

"Is that so?"

He walked away without another word.

In the very same class they were talking about, Imai Hotaru's eyes widened as her earphones transmitted what was just said outside. Her eyes darted to Yukiko, who was sitting innocently at the edge of the crowd, listening in onto the innocent discussion. Mikan was cheerfully talking about the situation, not an ounce of worry on her face as if the topic at hand was no more than a matter of fashion to a slob. Hotaru's lips tightened.

'_It's about time… I talked to him.'_

Something… was up in the Academy.

**XxxX**

**I understand that this took some time and I deeply apologise. The truth is that this chapter had been done up quite a while ago but I needed to take a break and look back on the whole plot as a whole before I could publish this.**

**The manga has taken quite a turn the past few chapters. For one, I didn't expect Yuka to die so unexpectedly. When she did, I literally went 'WTHHHHHHH?'**

**Baring the bad language, I will assure to you readers that my planned version of this story's ending will not quite turn out that way. For one, I am planning to link this as a prequel to another story that I have already planned out and it would be most unpleasant if I followed canon dot to dot. Certain events will still play out, of course, but some parts leading up to them will be altered slightly. Gakuen Alice has progressed to a darker story and while Feathers will contain that loveable fluff like the scene with Mikan and Natsume, it too will have certain dark elements of its own.**

**Until next time!**


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